Judgment

GOSWAMI, J.- The All Party Hill Leaders Conference (hereinafter to be described as the APHLC) was constituted as a political party in the composite State of Assam on July 6, 1960. In 1962 the APHLC contested the general elections and secured 11 out of 15 seats in the Assam Legislative Assembly reserved for the Autonomous Hill Districts of the State of Assam and returned one member to the Lok Sabha. In 1967 it contested the general elections and secured 9 seats in the Legislative Assembly and returned one member to the Lok Sabha. In 1970 the autonomous State of Meghalaya within the State of Assam was constituted under Section 3 of the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1969, and the APHLC secured 34 seats in the Legislative Assembly. In 1972 the State of Meghalaya came into being as the 21st State of the Indian Union under Sec. 5 of the North - Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971. In the same year the APHLC contested the general elections and secured 32 seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly out of 60 and returned two members to the Lok Sabha and one member to the Rajya Sabha.

2. It is claimed by the appellant that the APHLC is a vibrant and fully functioning political party. It has a high reputation for its national and partiotic outlook and its adherence to non-violence, constitutionalism, communal harmony and the spirit of moderation. APHLC has been influential not only in securing stability in the area in which it operates but also in bringing the various tribes of the North-East into the national stream. In the implementation of national programmes APHLC has co-operated with the Indian National Congress but APHLC has always remained essentially a State party. The essence of APHLC, says the appellant, is the autonomy and security of the small hill tribes of the North-East whose party it is and who do not wish to lose their identity as such. The appellant further asserts that it is in the national interest no less than the interest of these small hill tribes that they should possess a sense of unity and organisation within the APHLC which in turn maintains the best of relations with the Indian National Congress which is a national party.

3. The appellant also claims that the APHLC functions at several levels, namely, Central, District, Circle and Village levels. At the Central level it has affiliated to it several other parties, these being the Garo National Council, the Eastern India Tribal Union, the Khasi Jaintia Conference and the Jaintia Durbar. There is the Central Office Bearers Committee comprising all the Central Office Bearers, namely, President, several Vice-Presidents, General Secretary, Joint Secretaries and Treasurer. Furthermore, there are branches at the District level each district having its own office bearers, executive committee and other committees. Thereafter there are Circles within the area of the district which correspond to M.L.A. constituencies. Further below and nearest to the grass roots there are the village units comprising a village or a group of villages. There are about 300 village units in the State each unit having 50 to 200 members of APHLC according to the size of the village unit.

4. Originally the representatives of the District Congress Committees were also included in the APHLC but some time in 1961 the District Congress Committees left the APHLC.

5. It is also claimed that "the APHLC as a political party has thousands and thousands of members in the State of Meghalaya". As a counter to this assertion, it is stated by the respondents that "as per well-established convention of the erstwhile APHLC, the General Conference of the party was the supreme authority to discuss and to decide on any issue before it". It is pointed out by the appellant that the presence of a large membership has not been even denied by the respondents.

6. It is clear that the main object of the APHLC was to achieve statehood in the hill areas within the framework of the Constitution of India and to work ou