The judgment establishes that indirect interest in a contract work, even through a family relationship, can result in disqualification under the statutory provisions.

( 1 ) THE petitioner is not merely a member but the Vice-President of the Agricultural produce Marketing Committee, Bellary and seeks herein to challenge an order made by the Deputy Commissioner, bellary on the 13th April, 1987 as per annexure-C herein declaring that he is disqualified to be a member of the a P M. C. under S 16 (2) (g) read with s. 17 (2) of the Karnataka Agricultural produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1966 ('the Act' for short ).

( 2 ) HE has obtained an interim order on this court staying the impugned disqualification. Subsequently one Kehsava reddy said to be the President of the agricultural Produce Committee (herein- after called 'the committee') got himself impleaded as party alongside the Deputy commissioner of Bellary who alone was party respondent initially. However, the matter has been exclusively contested by r-1, the Deputy Commissioner followed by the other members of the committee of management of the said institution who had sought to intervene alleging that the petitioner and second respondent are hand-in-glove with each other and that respondent No. 2 while making a pretence of opposing the petition is likely to support the petitioner and to ensure that a just decision is reached in this proceeding and to assist a just decision being reached and recorded they have accordingly sought to intervene in the matter and have been allowed to intervene.

( 3 ) PRINCIPALLY the matter has been contested by the members of the committee along with the Deputy Commissioner who is the first respondent.

( 4 ) THE facts that have led up to this controversy is within a narrow compass and admits of a brief narration. On a complaint having been lodged against the petitioner alleging that his son who was living with him had obtained a contract work from the society resulting in Rs. 5000/- and odd being paid to the petitioner's son and that in consequence the petitioner had become disqualified to continue as a member under the provisions of the Act and should therefore be removed from the committee, the Deputy Commissioner before whom the complaint was made, issued a show- cause notice to the petitioner as per annexure-A and in reply there the petitioner denied the allegations made namely of the contractor-son being joint with him and alleged that his son is living separately with his brother and they are not the members of the joint family To this effect he filed an objection statement and was heard through his counsel by the deputy Commissioner who, however, held that on the factum of the admitted relationship between the petitioner and the son who obtained the contract work for the society, there is little gain-say in denying that he was atleast indirectly interested in the work done and had consequently incurred the disqualification under S. 16 (2) (g) read with S. 17 of the act. It is the legality and correctness of this order which is precisely in challenge in this writ petition.

( 5 ) TO start a complaint is made that adequate opportunity was not given to the petitioner to make out a case of total disinterestedness in the contract work in virtue of the son being a separated member living away from the father There, however, seems to be little substance in this complaint because although the matter had been pending before the Deputy commissioner for quite some time the petitioner had not offered to lead any evidence or produced proof in support of his allegation that he and his contractor- son were not joint. In this court some documents have been produced to show that there was a division between him and his son and that the son was residing separately from the father. The electoral roll produced to illustrate the separate residence of the son does not really bear out any such state of affairs and the zerox copy of an unregistered palupatti produced, although of the year 1982, inspires little confidence since it is a document whose existence can be contrived at any moment. If it was available