- (1.) THIS petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India has arisen in the following circumstances. The post of the Manager of the Gohana Co-operative Marketing-cum-Processing Society Limited, Gohana (hereinafter to be referred to as the Society) was lying vacant in the month of April, 1966, when, on learning that the office of the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Punjab, Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as the Registrar) wanted to foist on the Society as Manager a person named Shri Ram Dia who was at the time working as Inspector of Co-operative Societies. Shri Daya Chand petitioner No. 1, the then Vice-Chairman of the Society, sent a telegram to the Registrar informing him that the proposed appointment of Shri Ram Id was not acceptable to the Society and making a request that the name of an Inspector of Co-operative Societies acceptable to the society be recommended. Through his letter dated 28-5-1966 (Annexure "a" to the petition), the Registrar passed on the information contained in the telegram to his Deputy Registrar at Rohtak.
(2.) SOMETIME later the Deputy Registrar learnt that the Society was contemplating the appointment of one Shri Rah Singh as its Manager. According to the Deputy Registrar, Shri Raj Singh was a man of doubtful antecedents and unsuitable for appointment as the Manager of a concern such as the Society was. On the 27th of May, 1966, therefore, he wrote a letter (Annexure "b" to the petition) informing the President of the Society of all the circumstances in which the appointment of Shri Raj Singh as Manager of the Society was considered undesirable and also stating that the Registrar's Department would not approve of the proposed appointment of Shri Raj Singh on account of his past history. The advice so tendered by the Deputy Registrar, however, did not find favour with the concerned committee of the Society which, in their meeting held on the 5th of June, 1966, selected Shri Raj Singh for the post of the Society Manager.
(3.) THIS selection did not find favour with Shri Bhardwaj, respondent No. 5 who was one of the official nominees to the Committee and who recorded his note of dissent on the point. Apprehending that the Committee would implement its decision about the appointment of the Manager in spite of the said note of dissent, Shri Vijai Singh, Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Rohtak, sent to the Society a communication (Annexure "c" to the petition) bringing out the following points: (a) When a difference of opinion arises between the nominated members of the Managing Committee of a Society in which shares have been subscribed by the Government and the other members thereof, the concerned resolution must be referred by the Committee to the Government as laid down in Section 26 (4) of the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, 1961 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act) for its final decision which, under the provision of that section operates as if the same is a decision taken by the Committee. (b) In view of the mandatory provision of Section 26 (4) ibid, the resolution of the Managing Committee dated the 5th of June, 1966, is compulsorily referable to the Government without whose decision it cannot be implemented. (c) The matter should be referred to the Government immediately and if any action is taken in disregard of the provisions of Section 26 (4) ibid the concerned members of the Committee would be responsible for the consequences. ";