HARI SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Hari Singh and two others have filed the present petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of appropriate writ, order or direction for quashing the election of Bakhshish Singh, respondent No. 11 as President of the Mahilpur Cooperative Marketing Society Ltd., Mahilpur (hereinafter referred to, for short, as the Society). A prayer has also been made for quashing the agenda issued on 5th September, 1975 for co-option of some members of the Board of Directors.

(2.) The allegations as contained in the petition may be briefly recapitulated. It is stated that the Society aforesaid is registered under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). According to the constitution of the said Society, there have to be six elected Directors, three out of whom are to be from the category of Cooperative Societies and thre from the category of individuals. There is no dispute that the three petitioners are elected members from the category of Cooperative Societies. Similarly, the parties are at one on the point that respondents Nos. 11, 12 and 13 are elected members from the category of Individuals. The main allegation of the petitioners is that without co-opting the required number of persons under section 26-A of the Act, a section was held for the offices of President and Vice-President of the Society and this was violative of the provisions of the Act and the rules framed thereunder. A further grievance was also made that Bakhshish Singh, respondent No. 11, who had presided over the meeting in which the election was held, utilised his casting vote for electing himself as the President. This is stated to be against the principles of natural justice and fairplay. Reference has also made to certain other facts with a view to indicate that the action of the respondents was at the behest of Shri Gurmel Singh, Education Minister, Punjab, of whom Shri Bakhshish Singh, the elected President, is said to be a right-hand man. The ultimate prayer in the'writ petition is for quashing the proceedings of the meeting held on 29th of August, 1975, in which the office- bearers were elected and the agenda dated 5th of September, 1975, issued for the subsequent meeting held on 20th of September, 1975, in which three respondents (Nos. 14, 15 and 16) were co-opted as members of the Society.

(3.) Consequest to the admission of the writ petition, notices were issued to all the respondents arrayed in the petition. Written statements have been filed on behalf of all the concerned respondents controverting the allegations referred to above. In particular, it may be mentioned that the main contesting respondents Bakhshish Singh (No. 11) in his return, submitted in the shape of an affidavit, apart from denying the allegations relating to the illegality of the election, asserted that no directions by means of the circular letters Annexures (P. 1 and P. 2) were ever received by or communicated to the Society. He also refuted the allegation that Shri Gurmel Singh, Educational Minister, had any concern with him or had exercised any undue influence in the matter. It was further contended that after suffering a failure in the election, the petitioners had chosen to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution which they should not be allowed to do. In the return filed by the Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies (on behalf of respondents 5 and 6), all that was admitted is that the co-option of the members should have been made before the election of office-bearers. In regard to the issue of directions to the Society, it was neither asserted that such directions were in fact issued nor this fact was denied. As such, this written statement is hardly of any benefit to either party. Shri Gurmel Singh, respondent No. 7 has also filed a written statement denying the allegations of having exercised political influence in the matter, as also the fact that Bakhshish Singh respondent No. 11 was his right hand man.