LENTIN J.-Both these petitions are filed to set aside the order dated 16th February 1974 passed by the Collector of Poona, viz. the 2nd respondent, directing the deletion of the names of the petitioners from the votes list of the 1st respondent Karkhana. Both these petitions have common facts and involve for decision common points of law and hence awe being disposed of by a common judgment.

2. The petitioners and respondents 3 to 5 in Special Civil Application No. 1101 of 1974 and the petitioners and respondents 3 to 8 in Special Civil Application No. 227t of 1974 are shown as producer members in the Register of Members of the 1st respondent-Karkhana, which is a Society registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (referred to hereafter as "the Societies Act"). The 2nd respondent is the Collector of Poona.

3. The elections to the Board of Directors of the 1st respondent Karkhana are held tri-annually. On 18th August 1913, an election programme was published by the Collector of Poona. Under this prorgramme, 21st September 1973 was the date fixed for presenting claims and raising objections to the provisional voters list. The date for the Collector's decision of claims and objections was fixed at 1st October 1973. The date for final publication of voters' list was fixed at 3rd October 1973.

4. The names of the petitioners were included in the provisional voters' list. One hundred and fifteen persons raised claims before the Collector for the inclusion of their names in the provisional voters' list. However, no objection had been raised by anybody to the inclusion of the petitioners' names in the provisional voters' list.

5. On 29th September 1973, an order was passed by the Additional Collector, Poona, who decided those claims. He directed that 36 names out of the 115 claimants be included in the provisional voters' list. 6. Aggrieved by this Order, the 1st respondent-Karkhana filed Special Civil Application No. 2594 of 1973 in this Court and obtained a stay of the election scheduled to be held on 23rd November .1973. At the final hearing of that Special Civil Application No. 2594 of 1973, certain statements, which we shall advert to later in detail in this judgment, were made on behalf of the Collector by the learned counsel appearing for him. For the moment, it may be stated that the gift of those statements was that the order dated 29th September 1973 should have been passed by the Collector and not by the Additional Collector. On the strength of those statements, the impugned order dated 29th September 1973 passed by the Additional Collector was set aside on 10th December 1973.

7. Thereafter, the 2nd respondent, namely the Collector, called upon the 1st respondent-Karkhana to send a fresh provisional list of voters to enable him to publish a fresh election programme and to prepare the final voters' list. To this, the 1st respondent- Karkhana objected on the ground that publication of a fresh provisional voters' list was unnecessary as that had already been done. This objection was however negatived by the Collector who proceeded to publish a fresh election programme on 21st December 1973 for the purpose of preparing the final voters' list.

8. In response to the fresh programme published by the Collector on 21st December 1973, respondents 3 to 5 in Special Civil Application No. 1101 of 1974 and respondents 3 to 8 in Special Civil Application No.2271 of 1974, (all these respondents hereafter being referred to for convenience as "the objector-respondents"), objected to the inclusion of the names of the petitioners in the provisional voters' list on the following grounds, namely (1) that certain petitioners were under the age of 18 years, (2) that certain petitioners did not grow sugar cane in at least half acre of land and supply the same to the 1st respondent- Karkhana, (3) that though the petitioners owned land, they did not grow sugar-cane, and (4) that the petitioners did not have land either