- (1.) The petitioners who are 43 in number claim to be serving as incharge/officiating secretary in various Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACCS) Agra Division, Agra. The petitioners prior being authorised to function as acting/officiating secretary were holding the post of Accountant in their respective societies. The petitioners are seeking (i) Uttar Pradesh Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies Centralized (Fourteenth Amendment) Rules, 2015 (Rules, 2015) notified on 24 April 2015 be declared ultra vires of 97th Constitution Amendment read with Sections 29-A and 122-A of the U.P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1965 (Co-operative Societies Act); (ii) quashing of the Advertisement dated 6 November 2015 issued by the third respondent, Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, U.P., Agra Division, Agra for filing the posts of secretaries in various PACCS; (iii) direction to the respondents to regularise the service of the petitioners on the post of secretary in their respective societies; (iv) to restrain the respondents from proceeding to make appointment on the post of secretary pursuant to the impugned Advertisement.
(2.) Sri H.R. Mishra, learned Senior Advocate, appearing for the petitioners, while pressing the stay application, would submit as follows: (i) By virtue of Uttar Pradesh Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (Centralized Services) Rules, 1976 (Rules 1976), all the petitioners stood provisionally absorbed on the date of revival of the Centralized Service Cadre, therefore, these posts cannot be treated as vacant and no recruitment can be made pursuant to the impugned Advertisement; (ii) The posts of acting/officiating secretaries are referable to Section 29-A of the U.P. Cooperative Societies Act, therefore, the District Administrative Committee would not be competent to appoint secretaries under Rules, 2015. (iii) The petitioners have legitimate expectation to the post of secretary.
(3.) In rebuttal, Sri O.P. Singh, Senior Advocate, appearing for the second, third, fourth and fifth respondents, would submit: (i) The petitioners are accountant in their respective PACCS which being not a post in the Centralized Service Cadre, therefore, cannot claim regularisation on the post of secretaries; (ii) No right vested upon the petitioners under the Bank Ex-Cadre Regulation, 2012 (Regulation 2012) before being repealed, therefore, upon revival of the Centralized Services Cadre, the petitioners would have no right to appointment/absorption on the post of secretary; (iii) By way of interim measure, final relief cannot be granted to the petitioners as nothing would remain to be decided by the Court.;