- (1.) The term of election of the Managing Committee of the petitioner Phillaur Cane Growers Cooperative Society (hereinafter the Society) was to expire on November 25, 1978. The Cane Commissioner, Punjab, exercising the powers of the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, vide his order dated November 6, 1978, (Annexure P.1) appointed Shri Kewal Krishan Sharma, Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Nawanshahr as Election Manager under Appendix 'C' read with rule 23 of the Cooperative Societies Rules (hereinafter the Rules) to constitute zones and the detailed election programme of the Society for election of the Managing Committee for the ensuing year. The Assistant Registrar vide his letter dated November 13, 1978, (Annexure P.2) informed the Cane Commissioner that the Society had already issued an agenda to hold the election of the Society of November 24, 1978, and all the functions of the Election Manager have been done by the Manager/Secretary of the Society. He suggested that in order to conduct the election of the Society before November 25, 1978, the programme already circulated by the Committee of the Society may be approved because his acting as an Election Manager will take more than a month to complete the requisite formalities. The Cane Commissioner in his letter dated November 20, 1978, (Annexure P.3) addressed to the Assistant Registrar expressed his inability to agree with his suggestion. He further expressed his views regarding the mode of election of the Committee of the Society. He mentioned that in the prevailing bye-laws of the Society, there is a provision of election of delegates out of the share-holders, but it has been decided in consultation with the Registrar, Cooperative Societies that the election of the Committee of the Cane Growers Society be held by forming zones by stopping the delegate system under rule 23 Appendix 'C' of the Rules. The Cane Commissioner enclosed a copy of the instructions received from the Registrar in this regard which were obtained in connection with the election of Dhuri Society. A copy of letter of the Registrar dated October 25, 1978, in respect of Dhuri Society is Annexure P.3/A and paragraph 3 thereof which is relevant for the purpose of the present writ reads :- "As regards conducting election to the said Society by forming zones it is intimated that the provisions in the bye-laws of the said society to hold elections under the delegate system is not in accordance with the provisions of the Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 and the rules framed thereunder. As such you are advised to appoint the Election Manager and Returning Officer under the provisions contained in Appendix 'C' to rule 23 of the Punjab Co-operative Societies Rules, 1963 , and further direct them to conduct the elections under the provisions of the Rules."
(2.) The Society has challenged the direction of the Registrar to stop the delegate system for election of the Managing Committee being illegal and not binding on them. The Society has thus prayed that the direction to that effect contained in the letter of the Cane Commissioner (Annexure P.3) be quashed enabling it to elect the Managing Committee by the delegates.
(3.) The Cane Commissioner respondent No. 1 exercising the powers of the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab, in his written statement has admitted that there was a practice in the Society to elect the Directors towards the Managing Committee from the delegates duly elected by its members. According to him, this system has not been found in accordance with the provisions of Section 26 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (hereinafter the Act) and rule 23 Appendix 'C' of the Rules. The election of the Managing Committee in a Cooperative Society is to be held strictly in accordance with the procedure laid down in Appendix 'C' rule 23 of the Rules. There is no provision for electing the delegates from the share-holders of the Cooperative Society first and further elect the Committee members from the delegates either in the Act or the Rules.;