S.H.A. Raja, J. - (1.) The fate of this writ petition hinges on the reply to the question as to whether the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, U.P. Lucknow can appoint himself by name as Administrator of a Co-operative Society.
(2.) Section 29 of the U.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1965 (hereinafter called as the Act) reads as under:- "29. Committee of management. - (1) The management of every Co-operative Society shall vest in i a committee of management constituted in accordance with this Act, the rules and the bye-laws, which shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be conferred or imposed by this Act, the rules and the bye-laws. (2) The term of the elected members of the committee of management shall be such as may be provided in the rules of the bye-laws of the society. (2) It shall be the duty of the Committee of Management to take steps before the expiry of its term for election of members of the Committee of Management as provided in Section 32 at an annual general meeting, and the members so elected shall replace the members whose term expires under sub-section (2) : "Provided that the State Government may, by notification direct that in respect of such class of Co-operative Societies as may be specified. the superintendence, direction, control and conduct of elections of the members and Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee of management shall vest in the Registrar and such election may be held otherwise than in any meeting, not with standing anything contained in clause (b) of Section 32." 4(a) Where, for any reason whatsoever, the election of the elected members of the Committee of management has not taken place or could not take place before the expiry of the term of elected members, the Committee of Management shall, not with standing anything to the contrary in this Act or the rules, or the bye-laws of the Society, cease to exist on the expiry of such term. (b) On or as soon as may be after the expiry of such term, the Registrar shall appoint an Administrator or a Committee of Administrator (hereinafter, in this section, referred to as the Committee') for the management of the affairs of the society until the reconstitution of the Committee of Management in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the rules and the bye-laws of the society, and the Registrar shall have *he power to change the Administrator or, as the case may be, any member of the Committee or to appoint a Committee in place of an Administrator or vice verse, from time to time : Provided that any Administrator appointed under sub-section (4), as it stood prior to the commencement of the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 1983, shall be deemed to have been duly appointed and no action taken or power exercised or function performed by him shall be deemed to be invalid or shall be celled in question in any Court on the ground of any defect in his appointment as such or on the ground that the Committee of Management was not reconstituted within time or the term of his office was not duly extended. (c) Where a committee is appointed under Clause (b) it shall consist of a Chairman and such other members not exceeding eight as may be nominated by the Registrar out of Which at least two shall be Government servants. (d) The procedure for summoning and holding of meetings of the Committee, the time and place of holding such meetings, the conduct of business at such meetings and the number of members necessary to form quorum thereof shall be such as may be prescribed. (e) So long as no Administrator or, as the case may be, the Committee is appointed under Clause (b), the Secretary or the Managing Director, as the case may be, of the society shall be in charge only of the current duties of the Committee of Management. Explanation. - Where results of the election of the members of the Committee of Management have not [been or could not be declared, for any reason whatsoever, before the expiry of the term of the elected members of the outgoing Committee of Management,'it shall be deemed that the election of the elected members of tho Committee of Management has not taken place within the meaning of this sub-section. (5) The Administrator or the Committee appointed under sub-section 0) shall, subject to any direction which the Registrar may, from ti .ne to time give, have the power to perform all or any of the functions of the Committee of Management or of any officer of the society and shall be deemed for all purposes under this Act, the rules and the bye laws of the society to be the Committee of Management and the Chairman of such Committee shall exercise the powers and perform the functions of the Chairman of the Committee of Management. (6) The Administrator or the Committee, as the case may be appointed under sub-section (4) shall, as soon as may be, but not later than the expiry of one year from the date of appointment arrange for the reconstitution of the Committee of Management in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the rules and the bye-laws of the society to take over the management of the society from the Administrator or the Committee, as the case may be ; Provided that an Administrator, referred to in the proviso to Clause (b) of sub-section (4), shall arrange for reconstitution of the Committee of management within one year of his initial appointment or up (December 3i, 1986) whichever be later : Provided further that where an Administrator is replaced by a Committee or a Committee by an Administrator as provided in Clause (b) of sub-section (4). the period of one year shall count from the date the Administrator or the Committee, as the case may be, was originally appointed : Provided also that the provisions of the proviso to sub-Section (3) of this section shall apply in respect of reconstitution of the Committee of Management under this sub-section. Explanation. - not with standing that the process of election may have commenced before the appointment of Administrator or the Committee under sub-section (4) a fresh process of election shall commence after such appointment."
(3.) Before dealing with the question, the factual matrix as set out in the writ petition, needs to be elucidated in brief.;