P.D.DESAI - (1.)The petitioners are the employees of the first respondent Municipality. The first petitioner is occupying the post of Octroi Clerk since 1975. The second petitioner is occupying the post of Hydraulic Engineer since 1973. The first and the second petitioners were at the material time elected a members of the Board of Directors of two Societies registered under the Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). They were elected as Directors of Anand Peoples Co-operative Bank Ltd. in or about August 1981 They were also elected as Directors of the Anand Dudh Vaparnari Madhyastha Grahak Sahakari Mandali Ltd. in or about September 198 The second petitioner was also at the material time an elected Director of the Anand Industrial Estate Co-operative Society Ltd. It would thus appear that the petitioners while in the employment of the respondent Municipality were taking active interest in the Co-operative movement and that they were intimately connected with the manageMent of some Societies registered under the Act.
(2.)The General Board of the respondent Municipality at its meeting held on 30/01/1981 passed resolution No 380 whereunder it was decided to add the following two rules in the existing rules and to seek the approval of the State Government for the addition of those rules :
87 No officer or servant of the Municipality can contest as a candidate or actively take part in the election of the local Co-operative Societies Co-operative Banks or other local institutions. 1687 If any officer or servant has contested as a candidate or taken active part in the election of local Co-operative Societies Co-operative Banks or other locaL institutions he shall cease to be a Municipal Officer or servant and his office shall become vacant
In exercise of the powers conferred by proviso (a) to sec. 1 of the Gujarat Municipalities Act 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the Municipalities Act) the Director of Municipalities of Gujarat State purported to grant approval to the said two rules under his order dated 1/10/1981 The Central Board of the respondent Municipality thereafter passed resolution No. 58 3/03/1982 bringing into force the said two rules on and with effect from 1/07/1982
(3.)The petitioners instituted the present petition on 28/06/1982 challenging Rules 87-1 & 87-2 on the ground that the said two rules were unconstitutional. Notice was issued on the petition on 29/06/198 2/07/1982 Rule nisi was issued on the petition and ad-interim relief was granted directing that the rules in question shall not be construed as preventing or disabling the petitioners from contesting the election in a Co-operative Society formed by the employees of the respondent Municipality.