Judgment

PALEKAR, J.:- This is an appeal by special leave from the judgment and Order dated October 25, 1967 passed by the Allahabad High Court in Civil Miscellaneous Writ No. 3713 of 1967.

2. The petitioner Deoki Nandan Parashar was an employee of the Agra District Co-operative Bank Agra. He joined service as an Office Assistant in 1963 and was confirmed in that post a year later on May 14, 1964. On October 16, 1964 the petitioner was promoted as Executive Officer and was confirmed in that post after one year s probation expiring on 16-10-1965.

3. The Annual General Meeting of the Bank was fixed on August 25, 1966. An emergency meeting of the Board of Directors was called on the previous day for disposing of urgent business in connection with the proposed Annual General Meeting. At that meeting one A. P. Sharma, who was a Director, moved a resolution for terminating the services of the petitioner. It was passed. A letter was issued to the petitioner on August 25, 1966 intimating to him the termination of his services. A cheque was also issued for two months salary in lieu of notice.

4. Aggrieved by this Order which was passed without previous notice, the petitioner went in appeal to the Registrar, Co-operative Societies under Rule 101 of the Agra District Co-operative Bank Ltd., Agra Service Rules, 1958 hereinafter discribed as the "service rules". The Registrar held that the termination of the petitioner s services all of a sudden in an emergent meeting of the Board of Directors on the eve of the Annual General Meeting without giving him an opportunity for submitting his explanation, was in utter disregard of Rule No. 21 of the Service Rules. Such an action on the part of the Board of Directors was against all canons of equity, justice and good conscience and, therefore, the order required to be set aside. He further added that the resolution of the Society terminating the petitioner s service was foreign to the objects of the Society and was, therefore, inoperative and liable to be deleted from the records of the Society.

5. The result of this decision was that the petitioner resumed service on September 4, 1966 and the intermediate period during which he was absent due to the order passed by the Board was treated as on duty.

6. More than a year later, that is, on October 17, 1967 a new officer who had become the Registrar of the Co-operative Societies passed the following order:

"The order of my predecessor issued vide this office endorsement No. 1749-54/8-1(8)/ Bkg. dated September 3, 1966 in which resolution No. 28 of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the District Co-operative Bank Ltd. Agra held on 24-8-1966 was declared ultra vires under Rule 175 of the U. P. Co-operative Societies Rules, 1936 (amended upto date) is hereby withdrawn."

No reasons were given why the previous order had been withdrawn. But the Administrator of the Bank, who was now exercising the powers of the Board of Directors, issued an Order that in view of the withdrawal order passed by the Registrar, the services of the petitioner stood terminated with effect from 21-10-1967 and, therefore, he should hand over all papers and charge concerning the bank.

7. The petitioner, thereupon, approached the High Court under Article 226 complaining that the new Registrar had no jurisdiction to withdraw the quasi judicial order passed by his predecessor and that the order of withdrawal had been passed at the instance of the Minister concerned who bore grudge against the petitioner.

8. We are informed that no return was filed on behalf of the several respondents including the Registrar and the Minister.

9. The principal contention of the petitioner was that the withdrawal order of the Registrar dated October 17, 1967 was illegal and without jurisdiction and the principal relief that he claimed was that the same be quashed and set aside. The High Court, however, addressed itself to the question as to whether the order passed by the previous Registrar on September 3,