JUDGMENT :

1. These Writ Petitions give rise to a common question raised on behalf of the Petitioners as regards orders passed by the Cooperative Tribunal under the Goa Co-operative Societies Act, 2001. The nomination papers of disputants who had approached the Tribunal were held to be wrongly rejected by the Returning Officer. As a consequence, the election of the petitioners stood set aside and directions were issued in each of these cases to the Registrar of the Co-operative Societies to conduct fresh elections. On the petitioners approaching this Court, interim orders were passed in their favour, as a consequence of which they have continued as elected members of the Board of Directors of the Sahakar Urban Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. Rule was granted in all these Petitions.

2. It is relevant that the Petitioners before this Court stood elected unopposed and, therefore, the question of rejection of nomination papers of the contesting Respondents in these Writ Petitions assumes significance. The said question revolves around the interpretation of bye-law 25(i) of the Bye-laws of the Respondent-Sahakar Urban Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. The nomination papers of the contesti