JUDGMENT

B. SUBHASHAN REDDY, J .

The writ petitions have been filed questioning the action of the authorities, be it the Government or the District Collectors, in stalling the election to the Committees of the respective Co-operative Societies by invoking the power under Rule 22-AAA of A.P. Co-operative Societies Rules. The said rules have been framed by virtue of rule-making power under sub-section (1) of Section 130 of the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 which reads :

"The Government may by notification published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette make rules for carrying out all or any of the purposes of this Act for the whole or any part of the State and for any class of societies."

2. Hitherto, the tenure of the Committees elected was three years, but the same has been increased to five years. The societies concerned in this batch of writ petitions had elected Committees to manage their respective societies, but their term had expired and as such, elections were to be conducted. The election authority has issued notification appointing Election Officers and the dates for elections were set. But, later on, they were stayed by virtue of the orders passed by the Government in some cases and by the District Collectors in some others. The details are mentioned below:
Writ Petition No. Scheduled date Date of Stay of election15057 of 1995 26-7-1995 11-7-199516965 of 1995 30-7-1995 21-7-199517200 of 1995 26-7-1995 25-7-199517190 of 1995 30-7-1995 27-7-199517361 of 1995 30-7-1995 27-7-199517093 of 1995 26-7-1995 25-7-199516179 of 1995 30-7-1995 16-7-199517284 of 1995 26-7-1995 25-7-199516200 of 1995 30-7-1995 27-7-199516383 of 1995 26-7-1995 21-7-199518057 of 1995 30-7-1995 24-7-199521278 of 1995 10-9-1995 8-9-199516697 of 1995 26-7-1995 25-7-199517378 of 1995 31-5-1995 21-5-199515286 of 1995 26-7-1995 14-7-199515976 of 1995 26-7-1995 13-7-199516728 of 1995 26-7-1995 25-7-199517244 of 1995 26-7-1995 22-7-199516572 of 1995 30-7-1995 23-7-199515377 of 1995 26-7-1995 11-7-199515340 of 1995 30-7-1995 13-7-199515444 of 1995 20-7-1995 11-7-199518906 of 1995 30-7-1995 29-7-199516034 of 1995 26-7-1995 16-7-199516993 of 1995 26-7-1995 25-7-199517312 of 1995 30-7-1995 26-7-199521309 of 1995 30-7-1995 29-7-199520386 of 1995 10-9-1995 8-9-199517052 of 1995 26-7-1995 21-7-199515711 of 1995 30-7-1995 12-7-1995.

3. The election authority notifies the date of election and arranges conduct of elections in the manner prescribed in the rule. The relevant rule is Rule 22 of A.P. Co-operative Societies Rules framed in exercise of the rule-making power mentioned above. The election authority for the class of societies specified in Section 31(3)(a) of the Act is the Registrar i.e., the main Registrar referable to Section 3(1) and for all other class of societies, it is the Collector of the District in which the head office of the society is situated. The election authority shall in-charge of formation of constituencies and to appoint Election Officer for each society, and communicate such appointment to the President or Chief Executive of the society by registered post acknowledgment due and time for such communication varies having regard to the class of societies. The constituencies have to be formed in accordance with sub-rule (2) and the preparation of list of members eligible to vote has to be made and every person who is a member of the society thirty days prior to the date of poll shall only be eligible to vote. The Election Officer is enjoined to issue a notice of election and communicate it by registered post by acknowledgment due to the President or Chief Executive of the society within the time stipulated and stipulation of time also varies having regard to the nature of the societies. The next stage is nomination and every member whose name is found in the voters list is entitled to file nomination. The nominations will be scrutinized by the Election Officers on the appointed day and time and if he finds that the nominations have to be rejected be