Order

The present appeal is directed against the judgment of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla in Civil Review No.9 of 1998. By the impugned order, the earlier order passed in Civil Writ Petition No. 1844 of 1995 was recalled and it was held that the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition. This view was taken primarily on the ground that the respondent was a Cooperative Society and was, therefore, not covered within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (in short ‘the Constitution’). Reliance for this purpose was placed on two Division Bench judgments of the High Court holding that the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition. As noted above, the review was allowed and the writ petition was dismissed as being not maintainable. No view was expressed on the merits of the case.

2. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted with reference to a seven Judges Bench judgment of this Court in Pradeep Kumar Biswas Vs. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology and Ors. (2002 (5) SCC 111) that the writ petition is maintainable. By the said judgment, the decision of the Constitution Bench in the case of Sabhajit Tewary Vs.