MAKWANA VIRENDRABHAI RANABHAI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the request of learned Counsels for the parties the matter was heard in the chamber, there being call of strike from the Bar Association.

(2.) By way of present petition, the petitioner has challenged the action of the respondent authorities in declaring election of two representatives of Cooperative Marketing Societies for the election of Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Mangrol on the ground of being violative of provisions contained in section 11(1) (iii) of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as 'the said Act').

(3.) In the instant case, it appears that the Respondent No.1-Director had issued notice on 02.01.2017 stating about election programme and also the number of persons to be elected by the respective Electorate for the three constituencies as contemplated under section 11 of the said Act. The number of persons to be elected from the cooperative marketing societies was shown therein as two. The Respondent-Director thereafter fixed the date of election as 01.04.2017 and appointed District Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Junagadh as the Election Officer vide the order dated 02.01.2017. Accordingly, election programme was also issued as per Annexure-G. As per the case of the petitioner, the Election Officer i.e. Authorized Officer published the provisional voters' list on 21.01.2017 under Rule 7 (3) of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Rules (hereinafter referred to as 'the said Rules') in which names of the 29 voters of two cooperative societies viz. Shri Navodit Mangrole Taluka Sahakari Kharid-Vechan Sangh Ltd. and Shri Mangrole Cotton Kharid-Vechan Mandali Ltd. were included (Annexure-H). In the Revised voters' list published on 06.02.2017 (Annexure-I) and in the final voters' list published on 17.02.2017 (Annexure-J), the said two societies and 29 voters, who were the members of the Managing Committee of the said societies were shown. According to the petitioner, as per proviso to section 11 (1) (iii) of the said Act, where the number of cooperative marketing societies does not exceed two, there should be only one representative from the constituency of cooperative marketing societies. Hence, the number of representative of the cooperative marketing society was required to be reduced from two to one. The petitioner having made representation to the Election Officer and the same having not been considered, the present petition has been filed.