M.N. Roy, J. - (1.) Section 2(b) of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), defines "Apex Society", as a cooperative society, whose area of operation extends to the whole of the Slate and the primary objective of which, is the promotion of object and the provision for facilities for the operation of other co-operative societies which are its members. The West Bengal Slate Co operative Marketing Federation Limited (hereinafter referred to as the said Society), is such an Apex Society. The petitioner Ali Ahmed is the Chairman of the said society and was elected as such to the Board of Directors of the same, as a representative of the Murari Thana Large Seeds Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Society Limited, at the Annual General Meeting of the Federation held on December 22, 1976.
(2.) The said society is also a co-operative society within the meaning of the said Act it has been stated that the said Society was organised in the month of January, 1958 and was duly registered with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, having its registration No. as 8/Cal of 1958. In view of the recommendations of the Dantwalla Committee, the membership of the said Society was re-organised by eliminating individuals and other types of societies and the same was converted to a purely federal organisation of marketing and processing co-operative and was re-named as West Bengal State Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited (hereinafter referred to as the said Federation). The membership of the said Society, on such reorganisation, are of the following categories:- (1) A - class holders and primary agricultural marketing society. (2) B - class share holders..........agricultural processing societies. (3) C - class share holders...............State Government. (4) D - class share holders......................open to individual and other types of agricultural co-operative societies which have business connection with the said society. But such members do not have any right to vote in the affairs of the said society and participate in the management for meeting of the said society or to share its profits. The said society at present has more or less 248 members and from the 15 different districts of West Bengal, there are 15 representatives to the Board of Management of the said Society and the petitioner Ali Ahmed is stated to be one of such representatives from the district of Birbhum.
(3.) From the statements in the petition, it appears that the said society has a Managing Committee consisting of 21 members, out of whom, 18 primary members were elected and 3 were nominated by the State Government. Of these 18 elected members, 15 were again elected by the elected primary agricultural marketing societies i.e. one from each of the 15 members, who were elected by the agricultural processing societies. It further appears that the day to day administrative and financial matters of the said society at all material times were and still are looked after by one Pravash Nath Mukherjee, who is the principal executive of the same and is designated as the Managing Director being appointed under the provisions of Rule 51 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Rules, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as the said Rules), as also under the provisions contained in the bye-laws of the said Society (hereinafter referred to as the said bye-laws).;