R. POORNALINGAM AND ORS. Vs. P. KADHIRVEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) For the sake of convenience, the parties will be referred to by their names.

(2.) The eye of the storm in this litigation is the Indian Officers' Association (for brevity "the IOA "), a society registered under the Societies Registration Act and membership in the said association is open only to public servants, subject to the provisions contained in this regard in the by-laws and subject to further satisfaction of the Executive Committee. The dramatis personae in this case are undoubtedly persons of stature having occupied high positions in the executive.

(3.) Prof. Kadhirvel (complainant/sole respondent herein - for brevity "Kadhirvel ") was a teacher of eminence in the Presidency College, Madras. R. Poornalingam (first petitioner/A.1) was a senior bureaucrat in the State apparatus. Likewise, S. Nagalsamy (second petitioner/A.2), S. Rajan Babu (third petitioner/A.3) and V. Kandasamy (fourth petitioner/A.4) had retired from Government service. Thus, by virtue of their previous service, they all became eligible for membership in the IOA and they joined the IOA as its members.