HUSSEINBHAI IBRAHIMBHAI MALEK Vs. P V BHATT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition by a member of the Vyara Agricuitural Produce Market Committee challenging the voters lists prepared for the election of the Committee to be held on 16-4-1976.

(2.) Initially there was one common Market Committee for talukas Songadh and Vyara but the Government took a decision to establish two separate committees for these two different areas of Songadh and Vyara talukas and this decision was made operative from 22-1-1974. On this decision being implemented the earlier Market Committee which was for the composite market area of two talukas stood dissolved and the first Market Committee for Vyara taluka came to be appointed by the Government by nominating members. The petitioner was one of such nominees of the Government and in that capacity he was the member of the Market Committee.

(3.) As said above the first election to elect the members of the Market Committee was to take place on 16-4-76 and one of the preliminaries required to he undergone for the purpose was preparation of three lists. Sec. 11 of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Act 1963 deals with the constitution or composition of Market Committees Eight agriculturists as defined in cl. (ii) of sec. 2 of the Act constitute the first category of members. These agriculturists are to be elected by the members of the Managing Committees of Cooperative Societies (other than cooperative marketing societies) dispensing agricultural credit in the market area. The second category of members four in number are to be elected from amongst themselves by the traders holding general licences and as per the definition of the word trader occurring in cl. (xxiii) of sec. 2 of the Act even a cooperative society which carries on the business of buying or selling of agricultural produce or of processing of agricultural produce for sale also can be a trader. The third category of members two in number are to be elected from amongst the members of co operative marketing societies and they are to be the representative of such cooperative marketing societies. The word cooperative marketing society is defined in cl. (v) of sec. 2 of the Act.