KIRPAL SINGH AND ORS. Vs. STATE AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners through the medium of petition-in-hand are seeking quashment of Order No. 02-SS of 2013 dated 10.05.2013, by virtue of which Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Jammu and Kashmir has registered amendment 5(a)(i) in the Membership clause of the registered Bye Laws of the Sainik Co-operative House Building Society Ltd., Jammu (hereinafter called as "Society"), and with a further direction to respondents 3 and 4 to delete the names of the civilians from the Electoral List, on the grounds set out in the writ petition. The case of the petitioners, in brief, is that they being the Ex-servicemen and Defence personnel and having their residential houses at Sainik Colony, Jammu are duly enrolled members of the Sainik Co-operative House Building Societies Ltd. (respondent No. 4 herein). They have assailed the validity of Order No. 02-SS of 2013 dated 10.05.2013 whereby respondent No. 3 has directed amendment of clause 5(a)(i) of the Bye Laws of the Sainik Co-operative House Building Society Ltd., which deals with the eligibility to become the member(s) of the Society. The primary ground of challenge to the impugned order passed by respondent No. 3, is that it is not in consonance with the judgment passed by a Division Bench of this Hon'ble High Court in LPA (OW) No. 35/2008, upholding the order of learned Single Judge dated 28.02.2008 passed in OWP No. 410/2005. The petitioners also seek direction to respondents 3 and 4 to delete the names of the civilians as the members from the Electoral rolls of the Society.

(2.) Although, the petitioners have not been able to substantiate their contention with regard to the violation of the directions issued by this Court in writ petition and LPA aforementioned, yet apprehension voiced by them appears to be against the civilian members, who are not serving or ex-servicemen with regard to their participation in the election process for electing Management Committee of the Society.

(3.) The official respondents have filed their objections to the maintainability of the writ petition contending therein that there is an equally efficacious remedy available by way of filing revision petition before Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal against the impugned order and therefore, writ petition is not maintainable as the petitioners cannot be allowed to by pass the statutory right available to them. It is further contended that order impugned has been passed by respondent No. 3 pursuant to order dated 03.04.2013 passed by this Court in OWP No. 584 of 2008, titled Devinder Nath Sharma v. State and others, as such, the same is not open to challenge through the medium of the instant petition.