- (1.) THE meaningful question whether a Society registered under the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, 1961, is amendable to the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been reagitated before the Full Bench.
(2.) IN view-of the pristinely legal nature of the issue aforesaid, it is unnecessary to recount the fact in detail. Suffice it to mention that the petitioner Ajmer Singh was employed as a Filed Inspector in the Punjab State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd. (hereinafter called Marketed) which admittedly is registered under the Co-operative Societies Act. The Managing Director of the Marketed by his order dated the 13th of November, 1978 (Annexure P. 2) dismissed the petitioner from Service and his appeal against the said order was in turn dismissed by its Administrator vide Annexure P. 5. The writ petition sought to challenge the orders of dismissal and its affirmance in appeal. At the motion stage, a preliminary objection was raised on behalf of the respondent-Marketed that no writ petition was maintainable against a Co-operative Society. On behalf of the petitioner, however, reliance was firmly placed on the D. B. judgment of Julwat Singh v. State of Punjab, 1972 Pun LJ 399. The Motion Bench apparently discerning some conflict of authority admitted the present petition for a hearing by a Full Bench.
(3.) NOW it appears to me that within this jurisdiction there is such a long line of unbroken precedent covering the legal issue before us that it would be apparently wasteful to launch on a digression on first principles. The matter had first come up directly for decision before Tuli J. , in Dharampal Soni v. State of Punjab, 1969 Serv LR 349 (Punj), and after exhaustively examining the point both on principle and precedent the learned Judge concluded that a Co-operative society being a non-statutory body a writ petition against it was not maintainable. The aforesaid view was strenuously challenged in a Letter Patent appeal but was conclusively repelled by the bench in Dharam Pal Soni v. State of Punjab, (1973) 2 Serv LR 845 (Punj ). Subsequently Dharam Pal Soni's case (supra) has been unreservedly followed by learned single judge of this court in Krishan Lal Pahwa v. State of Haryana, 1974 SLWR 298: (1975 Lab IC 672); Dilavar Singh v. Administrator, Khanna Co-op. Marketing Society Ltd. , 1974 SLWR 939 (Punj) and Anup Singh v State of Punjab,1975 SLWR 27 (Punj ). Lastly directly covering the issue is the Division Bench judgment in P. S. Saini v. State of Punjab, C. W. P. NO. 4410 of 1979 decided on the 23rd of February, 1980, wherein it has been specifically held that Marketed being a Co-operative Society a Writ petition against it was not maintainable and the same was consequently dismissed in limine.;