U.C.SRIVASTAVA, J. - (1.) THE petitioners claiming themselves to be sympathiser members of the District Cooperative Bank, Biswan, district Sitapur, have filed this petition challenging the resolution dated 3rd September, 1978, removing 20 sympathiser members and the appellate order against the same, and for issue of a mandamus directing the opposite parties not to hold the election of sympathiser members Constituency. The petition has been opposed by the Secretary of the District Cooperative Bank, the opposite parties have, through Ajit Kumar Mehrotra who alone filed his nomination paper from the Constituency in question, filed similar counter affidavit.
(2.) AFTER the super session of the District Co-operative Bank, Biswan, district Sitapur, the District Magistrate was appointed as an Administrator and before fresh elections took place various Societies were reorganised and it was found that the membership was reduced from 703 to 308 with the result that the strength of sympathiser members which could not have been more than five per cent of the total membership was to be reduced to 15 from 35. Though there was dispute between the parties whether it should have been 15 or 14 but ultimately during the course of arguments it was not seriously challenged that the strength should have been 14. The allegation of the petitioner has been that during this period Gaya Prasad Mehrotra, father of Ajit Kumar Mehrotra, opposite party, who had filed nomination paper from sympathiser members Constituency and who had been his hold in the District Co-operative Bank, Biswan, manipulated things and got the names of 25 members removed and retained only 15 members who were mostly their family members of their rela­tions or men of their pocket. The petitioner's case is that as strength should have been 14, but as 15 members are said to have been retained and thereafter resignation from one was taken, it will not validate, what was invalid at its very inception.
(3.) THE opposite parties have challenged the maintainability of the writ entry or the list of members was election on the basis of the same petition on the ground that alternative remedy is also open to the petitioner under section 70 of the U.P. Co-operative Societies Act and the petition also suffers from laches.;