JUDGMENT - B.H. MARLAPALLE, J.:---This petition has challenged the virus of section 73-C(2-B), 73-A, 73-IB and 77-A(3) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (for short, the Act) and prayed for other consequential reliefs, including the continuation of the managing committee in office without being superseded or replaced by an Administrator till their elections are held and the newly elected body resumes office. On 2nd August, 1999 a Division Bench of this Court (Barde and Mhase, JJ.), while issuing notice before admission, granted ad interim relief in terms of prayer Clause (F) and also clarified that the petitioner would be at liberty to move the State Government as per the provisions of section 73-C(2) of the Act with an application for extension of the Managing Committee's tenure. Prayer Clause (F) reads, thus :

"(F) Pending the hearing and final disposal of the present writ petition, grant an injunction restraining the respondents Nos. 1 to 3, their officers, agents, servants or anybody else claiming through or under them from taking any steps for superseding the existing Board of Directors of the respondent No. 4 Sangh including the petitioners and other members and/or appointing the Administrator till the newly elected Managing Committee Board of Directors takes over the charge of the respondent No. 4 Sangh and for that purpose issue necessary orders."

2. Before we proceed further it would be necessary to deal with some factual aspects regarding the present managing committee. Its term was to expire on 2nd August, 1999 and the Collector of Ahmednagar, who is the statutory authority to conduct the elections for the managing committee of the respondent No. 4 Sangh, which is a specified co-operative society within the meaning of section 73-C of the said Act, had declared provisional voters list on 4th June, 1999. Anticipating that the managing committee would have to vacate the office after 2nd August, 1999, by the operation of the provisions of section 73-C(2-B) of the Act, in the event of the elections to the new managing committee not being held, five of the fifteen managing committee members approached this Court in the instant petition on 14th June, 1999. A little prior to that i.e. on 8th June, 1999, the Government of Maharashtra issued an order, invoking its statutory powers under section 73-IB of the Act, to postpone the elections of all cooperative societies till 30th September, 1999 and pursuant to the general elections to the Legislative Assembly as well as the Parliament the Code of Conduct was in operation till 20th of October, 1999. On 30th June, 1999 the Government of Maharashtra passed an order making an exception in respect of the respondent No. 4 Sangh and excluding it from the general order dated 8th June, 1999 postponing the elections. Thereafter, the managing committee approached the State of Maharashtra for extension of tenure and the said application was allowed, thereby extending the tenure upto 15th of December, 1999 or till the newly elected committee took charge, whichever was earlier. On 21st October, 1999, the Collector Ahmednagar declared the election programme of the managing committee for respondent No. 4 Sangh and the date of polling was scheduled as 28th November, 1999 so that the newly elected committee could take over the reins of the respondent No. 4 earlier than 15th December, 1999. However, the said election programme came to be challenged in Writ Petition No. 5060 of 1999 which came to be rejected by this Court by order dated 25th October, 1999. Aggrieved by the said order of rejection of writ petition, S.L.P. No. 16715 of 1999 came to be filed before the Supreme Court on 30th October, 1999 and by order dated 26th November, 1999 the Supreme Court was pleased to stay the declaration of the election results. Again on 24th February, 2000 the S.L.P. was heard by the Apex Court and the stay order passed on 26th November, 1999 came to be confirmed and the S.L.P. was admitted. I

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