VIRJEEBHAI DEVABHAI JETHWA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ-petitioners, who have been served with a notice under section 159 of the Gujarat Co-Operative Societies Act, 1961 [the Act, for short, hereafter] for recovery of dues pursuant to an award passed by the Board of Nominee, have challenged the provisions of section 159 of the Act as ultra vires Article 14 of the Constitution of India. According to the writ-petitioners, the said provision is arbitrary, harsh, unreasonable and oppressive compared to other mode of recovery as designed by the legislature in the Act itself.

(2.) The case made out by the petitioners in the application may be summed up thus:

(3.) In order to appreciate the question involved in this petition, it will be apposite to refer to the provisions of sections 103 and 159 of the Act, which are quoted below: