- (1.) Heard Sri Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, learned Counsel for the petitioner and Dr. L. P. Misra for the respondent Nos.5 and 6.
(2.) The issue raised in this petition by the petitioners regarding an election dispute is that the respondent No.2 has passed an order assuming the powers of an Arbitrator, which he could not do in view of the notification dated 24.2.2003, whereby the Registrar of Co-operative Societies of U.P. stood notified as the Arbitrator by the Central Government in exercise of powers under Section 4 (2) of the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. Sri Srivastava submits that the decision taken is erroneous on a total misinterpretation of the provisions that are applicable, hence the impugned order deserves to be quashed.
(3.) It is then submitted that the directions issued by this Court on 23.5.2016 did not confer the power of arbitration on the Central Registrar and since the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, U.P., had already been notified, there was no occasion for the Central Registrar to have withdrawn the file for adjudication of the dispute before him. It is therefore urged that the exercise of powers by the Central Registrar amounts to transgressing on the powers of the Central Government to notify any other officer as envisaged under Section 4 (2) of the 2002 Act. He has also referred to certain mala fides and he contends that in the absence of any defect in the authority to arbitrate in the matter by the respondent No.3, the withdrawal of the said dispute by the respondent No.2 is an erroneous exercise of power.;