Judgment

RAY, JJ.

( 1 ) THIS is an appeal under Art. 133 of the Constitution of India against the Judgment and Order dated 23/10/1989 passed by the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petn No. 3976 of 1989 whereby the High Court directed the Registrar of Co-operative Societies to give fresh notice to the elected members as well as to the 3 persons namely 2 nominees of the Financial Institutions and the expert co-opted member.

( 2 ) THE matrix of the case is that the appellants who are the duly elected Directors of the Sanjay Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. hereinafter to be termed as "karkhana" signed a requisition and sent the same to the respondent No. 3, the Joint Director of Sugar and Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Maharashtra State, Pune requesting him to summon a special meeting of the Committee of the Karkhana to consider the proposed motion of no-confidence against the Chairman of the Committee, Dattatraya Waman Patil, respondent No. 1. This requisition was signed by more than 1/3rd of the total members of the Committee in accordance with the provision of Cl. (2) of S. 73-ID of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (Maharashtra Act No. 24 of 1961 ). The above requisition was received in the office of the Joint Director of Sugar and Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Maharashtra State, Pune, the respondent No. 3.

( 3 ) ON 6-9-1989 the respondent No. 3 issued a notice dated Sept. 13, 1989 convening a special meeting of the Managing Committee of Karkhana i. e. Board of Directors of the Karkhana on 25-9-1989. This notice was issued as contemplated by Cl. (3) of S. 73-ID of the Act. This notice was sent to all the members of the Committee of the Karkhana who at that time were entitled to sit and vote at any meeting of the Committee i. e. the elected members of the said Committee of Management. Over and above a copy of the notice was sent to the office of Registrar, Deputy Director of Sugar, Aurangabad (Presiding Officer ). A copy of this notice was also sent to the office of the Managing Director of the Karkhana as by way of this notice, the Managing Director had been directed to produce the minute book of the Committee meeting and handover possession thereof to the Presiding Officer at the commencement of the special meeting.

( 4 ) ON 18-9-89 the respondent No. 1 filed writ petition No. 3976 of 1989 before the High Court at Bombay challenging the requisition notice dated 5-9-89 signed by the 10 appellants who are elected members of the Managing Committee as well as notice dated 13-9-89 issued by the respondent No. 3 mainly on the ground that under the scheme of the Act read with the Rules and the Bye-laws of the Karkhana, co-opted member and nominees of the Financial Institutions who are members of the Board of Directors of the Karkhana and are entitled to sit and vote at the special meeting when the Committee considers the vote of no-confidence under Section 73-ID of the Act are required to be served with the said notices of requisition enabling them to participate in the said special meeting. This writ petition was heard by the Division Bench of Bombay High Court on 26-10-89. On a consideration of the provisions of S. 73-ID read with R. 57a and Byelaw No. 29 of the By-laws of the Society the High Court allowed the writ petition holding that the 3 members of the second category who have got a limited right to vote at a meeting except at a meeting to elect Chairman or Vice-Chairman are entitled to be served with notices of the special meeting and to participate in the said meeting and as the two nominees of the Financial Institutions and the expert co-opted members had not been served with the notices of requisition meeting, the requisition meeting cannot be held. Instead of quashing the notice issued by the respondent No. 3 convening the meeting, the High Court directed the Registrar, the respondent No. 3 to issue fresh notices to the elected members as well as to the 3 Directors of the second category bef