RAMESHBHAI MAGANBHAI LAKHANI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners, in this group of three petitions, are members of existing cooperative societies, operating in the area called Patanvaav, Chichod and Kalana, in Dhoraji Taluka of Rajkot District. They have filed these three petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, challenging the order dated 31st March, 2011 granting registration to, and registering three new cooperative societies, i.e. respondent no.4, for the three areas respectively, on the ground that the registration, is in violation of the provisions of the Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Co-Operative Society Act), and, is granted only for inflating the voters list for the Agriculture Produce Market Committee and the Co-Operative Bank of the area, and being malafide, deserve to be quashed and set aside.

(2.) As all the three petitions have almost similar facts and common grounds for challenging the registration of new cooperative society,-respondent No.4 in the respective petition they were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.

(3.) Facts, in brief, leading to filing these three petitions, deserve to be set out as under: