- (1.) ARUN Tandon, J. These are three writ petitions in respect of the same Society and the institutions managed by it.
(2.) HEARD Sri R. S. Maurya Advocate on behalf of the Committee of Management with Sri Raghuvansh Pandey as its Manager, Dr. R. K. Srivastava Advocate on behalf of the Committee of Management with Sri Anant Prasad Gupta as the Manager, Sri V. K. Upadhyaya Advocate on behalf of Banaras Hindu University and Sri Anil Tiwari on behalf of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. Ved Vidyalaya and Dayanand High School, Banaras was registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act on 11-3-1913. The name of the said Society was changed and it was duly registered with the changed name of Arya Vidya Sabha, Kashi on 21-9-1918. It is not in dispute between the parties that the election for office bearers of the Society are to be held in accordance with the provisions of the registered bye-laws of the Society. It is also not in dispute that the office bearers elected in respect of the Society among themselves constitute Committee of Management of the institutions, namely (i) D. A. V. Degree College which is an institution affiliated to Banaras Hindu University, (ii) Nityanand Ved Mahavidyalaya which is affiliated to Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, and (iii) D. A. V. Inter College. The dispute in the present petitions is confined to the office bearers of the Society and the Committees of Management of the Degree Colleges. There is no controversy with regard to the Committee of Management of D. A. V. Inter College.
(3.) IT is not disputed between the parties that this Court by means of order dated 21-10-1997 passed in Writ Petition No. 31668 of 1995 directed for holding of fresh elections of the office bearers [society (sic)] under the supervision of the Assistant Registrar. According to Sri Raghuvansh Pandey the Assistant Registrar accordingly conducted fresh elections of the office bearers of the Society on 19-9-1998 the result whereof was declared on 21-9-1998 in which Sri Shambhu Nath was elected as Secretary. The elections held by the Assistant Registrar on 19-9-1998 were duly recognized by the authorities inasmuch the list of office bearers elected in the election dated 19-9-1998 was duly registered under Section 4 of the Act and the said Sri Shambhu Nath was recognized as the lawful Secretary of the Society. Sri Shambhu Nath, however, expired on 3-11-2000 and Sri Raghuvansh Pandey claims to have been nominated as the Secretary of the Society for the remaining term of the Committee of Management under resolution of the governing body dated 15-11-2000. On the basis of the said election Sri Raghuvansh Pandey claim himself to be the Secretary of the Society and he also claims to have right to hold fresh elections of the Committee of Management. According to Sri Anant Prasad Gupta the Assistant Registrar did not conduct the elections within time specified by the High Court and therefore the general body of the Society held fresh elections on 16-8- 1998 and information for registering the list of office bearers so elected under Section 4 of the Societies Registration Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) was communicated to the Assistant Registrar vide letter dated 18-8-1998.;