JUDGMENT :

1. In these four Writ Petitions filed by the respective petitioners, being aggrieved by the decision of the respondent No.4/Election Officer of Ashok Cooperative Sugar Factory Limited, in rejecting their nomination papers for being elected to the Managing Committee of respondent No.5/Ashok Cooperative Sugar Factory Limited, they have invoked writ jurisdiction of this Court for quashing and setting aside the impugned order.

The petitioners are also aggrieved by the order passed by the respondent No.3/District Cooperative Election Officer and Regional Joint Director of Sugar, Ahmednagar, rejecting the respective appeals filed by them by invoking Section 152-A of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960.

2. All the four Writ Petitions raise a similar challenge and therefore, they are heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

3. In favour of the petitioners, I have heard Shri Ajit Kale, the learneds, the respective petitioners have supplied the sugarcane to the Sugar Factory in the following  advocate and learned AGP Shri S.G. Sangle for respondent No.1/State. Respondent Nos.2 to 4 are represented by the learned advocate Shri S.K. Kadam, whereas, respondent No.5 is represented by the learned advocate Shri R.R. Karpe.

4. Considering the exigency in the Writ Petitions, since the election programme for electing the Managing Committee of the respondent No.5 Sugar Factory is in progress, the respective counsel have advanced their submissions with an understanding that the petitions shall be heard finally at the stage of admission. Hence, Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith.

Heard finally by the consent of the parties.

5. All the petitioners are the agriculturists by profession and are members of the respondent No.5/Sugar Factory. The names of the petitioners are included in the voters list prepared by the Election Officer for the purpose of elections of the Managing Committee of the respondent No.5/Sugar Factory. The election for the term 2021-2022 to 2025-2026 came to be declared by the election programme published on 09.12.2021. As per the election programme, the election to the Managing Committee of the respondent No.5/Sugar Factory is scheduled on 16.01.2022 and the result of which, is to be declared on 17.01.2022. The date for filing of the nomination forms was scheduled between 13.12.2021 to 17.12.2021 and 20.12.2021 was the date scheduled for scrutiny of the nomination forms. The date for publication of the valid nomination forms was scheduled as 21.12.2021 and from 21.12.2021 to 04.01.2022 is the period prescribed for withdrawal of the nomination papers. 05.01.2022 is the date scheduled for publication of the list of validly nominated candidates and allocation of symbols.

6. In the backdrop of the election programme so published, the petitioners, who were eligible to contest the elections, submitted their nomination papers to the respondent No.4/Election Officer. The petitioners submitted the nomination forms from open category and it is specifically pleaded by them that they had purchased the standard bye-laws prepared by the competent authority from the Election Officer by submitting necessary amount and proceeded to fill in the nomination forms in terms of the bye-laws governing the election to the respondent No.5/Sugar Factory.

7. From the bye-laws, it could be discerned by the petitioners that the number of directors to be elected is 21 and they were classified into six categories, the largest one being constituency No.1 i.e. constituency of the sugarcane growers from which 15 directors are to be elected. From producer/non-producer cooperative society and marketing society i.e. constituency No.2, one director is to be elected. From the category of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes i.e. constituency No.3, one director is to be elected, further category of VJNT and Special Backward Class cate