ORDER :

1. By the present writ petitions, the petitioners are challenging the order dated 12/12/2022 passed by the respondent No.5 the District Election officer (APMC) And District Dy. Registrar Cooperative Societies Parbhani.

2. The present bunch of writ petitions involve common question of law and relates to the rejection of the petitioner societies objections/claim by the respondent No.5 District Election officer (APMC, Parbhnai), for inclusion of their names in the final voters list of the APMC respondent No.6. All the petitions involve common question and hence are taken up together for disposal. The facts are taken from Writ Petition No.13292 of 2022, Dajiguru Maharaj Shetkari Dhanya Adhikosh Seva Sahakari Sanstha Marayadit, Dhnagar Talaki, Tq. Purna, Dist. Parbhani and others Vs. The State of Maharashtra and Others.

3. Brief facts giving rise to the filing of the present writ petitions can be summarized as under :-

The petitioners societies were included in the voters list of the respondent No.6 the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Purna, Tq. Purna, Dist.Parbhani in the last elections held in the year 2016- 2017. On 08/04/2022, the Commissioner of Corporation issued a general direction for reclassification of Dhanya Adhikosh Societies as General Societies and issued further direction to accept model byelaws for all the Dhanya Adhikosh Societies. Some of the Dhanya Adhikosh Societies challenged the general direction of the Commissioner of Corporation before the Hon’ble Minister under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act. After considering the matter, the Minister rejected the revision petition filed by those petitioners. Thereafter, writ petition was filed in this Court challenging the order passed by the Minister. This Court, by common order dated 08/03/2023, in Writ Petition No.11921 of 2022 and other petitions set aside the order passed by the Hon’ble Minister so also the order passed by the Commissioner of Corporation dated 08/04/2022 so far as it was made applicable to the petitioners therein.

4. The present petitioners are similarly placed Dhanya Adhikosh Societies to those petitioners in Writ Petition No.11921 of 2022. During the pendency of the above Writ Petition No.11921 of 2022 before the High Court, the respondent No.5 issued programme for finalization of voters list of respondent No.6 (APMC). Provisional voters list was published on 21/11/2022, and claims and objections were invited up till 30/11/2022. The date for decision on claim and objection was scheduled on 12/12/2022 and the final voters list was published on 19/12/2022. On 25/11/2022 the petitioner societies raised objection to the provisional voters list as their names were not included in the provisional voters list. In their support, the petitioner societies produced its bye-laws and contended that the petitioners are Resource societies with sub-classification of agricultural resource societies. The petitioners have also contended that they have an object of giving crop loans to its members. They have also disbursed crop loan to its members.

5. On 19/12/2022, the respondent No.5 passed order on the objections raised by the petitioners and published final voters list of the APMC, thereby rejecting the objections raised by the petitioners. By the impugned orders dated 19/12/2022, the respondent No.5 primarily accepted the report given by the Sub-Registrar of Cooperative Societies wherein it was observed :-

(a) There is a general direction issued by the Commissioner of corporation on 08/04/2022 to reclassify the societies as general societies, and that the Hon’ble Minister of Corporation has dismissed appeal filed under Section 152 of MCS Act. The said order is challenged before the High Court by filing writ petitions, however, the High Court had not granted Stay, and as such, the societies are classified as general societies.

(b