HARMEL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners who are respectively Member and President of the Bariwala Co-operative Marketing-cum-Processing Society (hereinafter referred to as the Society), impugn the order of the Additional Registrar Co-operative Societies, Punjab, dated February 15, 1985 (Annexure P. 4) whereby the Society has been reclassified as a 'D' Class Society instead of 'C' Class Society which it concededly was prior to the passing of the impugned order. This order is stated to have been passed by the Additional Registrar in the purported exercise of the powers under Section 69 of the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, 1961 (for short, the 'Act'). In order to appreciate the stand of the petitioners, the'following facts deserve to be taken notice of.

(2.) Prior to the passing of this order, an order dated April 19, 1984 (Annexure P-1/A) was passed by the Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Muktasar and it reads as follows :-

(3.) Vide notice Annexure P. 2, it was communicated to the President of the Society that since the Assistant Registrar while passing order Annexure P-1/A had failed to give the Society an opportunity of hearing, the same was being afforded to it and it should come and clarify its position with regard to its working and performance as a Marketing-cum-Processing Society before the passing of the impugned order. Petitioner Mehar Singh, the President of the Society represented vide Annexure P. 3 that the order of the Assistant Registrar Annexure P-l/A was non est and ineffective as the same had been passed without affording any opportunity of hearing to the Society. For this stand of his he placed reliance on a judgment of this Court in C. W. P. No. 2945 of 1970 (Shri Karam Singh and another v. The Registrar Co-operative Societies, Punjab, Chandigarh and others) decided on September 10, 1971, wherein it has been firmly ruled that the decision to change the classification of the Society is quasi-judicial in nature and it has far reaching consequences, one of these being that its representatives lose the office of the Directorship of a Co-operative Bank or any other Central or Apex Society and before this could be done it is incumbent on the authority reclassifying the Society to issue a notice calling upon the Society to show cause as to why its classification be not changed. After considering this reply submitted by Mehar Singh on behalf of the Society, the impugned order Annexure P. 4 was passed by the Additional Registrar. The fact that Annexure P. 4 has been passed in pursuance of Annexure P. 2, is not disputed by Mr. Khoji, learned counsel for the respondent.