- (1.)Leave granted.
(2.)A writ petition filed by the petitioner herein was not entertained by the High Court on a finding that the Andhra Pradesh State Federation of Co-operative Spinning Mills is not a 'State' within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution. There is already a judgment of this Court in A.P. State Fed. of Coop. Spinning Mills Ltd. & Anr. v. P.V. Swaminathan (Civil Appeal No. 5037 of 1997) dated 31st January, 2001, wherein it has been held that a writ petition against the Federation would be maintainable. There has also been a larger Bench decision of this Court in Pradeep Kumar Biswas v. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology & Ors., 2002 5 SCC 111 that it is a 'State' within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution. At any rate, a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is entertainable not only against the State but also against other authorities. This being the position, we are of the opinion that the High Court committed error in not deciding the merits of the petition and dismissing the petition on the ground of maintainability. We, therefore, set aside the impugned order and remit the matter to the High Court for consideration on merits.
(3.)The civil appeal is, accordingly, disposed of.