The appointment of the Election Sub-Committee was illegal being without the approval of the Registrar. The election held in the absence of regulations framed under Rule 27 was also bad and without jurisdiction.

( 1 ) THIS Rule, touching the election of a Co-operative Society, arises on an application under Article 220 of the Constitution of India praying inter alia for a writ in the nature of mandamus, calling upon the respondents to recall, rescind and withdraw and not to give effect or to take any steps in relation to the three notices dated July 13, 1961, August 14,1961 and Sept-ember 13, 1961 and to command each one of them to forbear from holding the election with the help of the delegates elected by the Election Sub-Committee and for other appropriate writ or writs, directions or orders.

( 2 ) THE two petitioners are employees of the Gun and Shell Factory, Cossipore, and of the Inspectorate of Armaments, being an allied organisation of the Factory. But the organisations are under the control and management of the Government of India. A Co-operative Society in the name of the Gun and Shelf Factory Co-operative Society Limited (hereinafter referred to as the Society) was formed and registered under the provisions of the Bengali Co-operative Societies Act, 1940 (shortly stated hereinafter as the Act ). In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 140 of the Act, the Rules were framed by the State Government, namely, the Bengal Co-operative Societies Rules, 1942 (hereinafter stated to be the Rules),

( 3 ) THE petitioners are stated to be the members of the Society at material times. I am told the number of the members exceeds five thousand. The State of West Bengal is the respondent No. 1 in the instant Rule. The registrar and the Assistant Registrar of the Co-operative Societies of the Slate of West Bengal and one of their Officers are respondents Nos. 2, 3 and 7 respectively. The Society itself is respondent No. 4. The Managing Committee of the Society and its' Chairman are respondents Nos. 5 and 6 respectively. The added respondents Nos. 8 to 13 are the newly elected Directors of the Managing Committee of the Society.

( 4 ) THE object of the Society inter alia is to encourage self-help and "mutual aid among members" which is being followed, as argued, by its breach. These cases lead one to think that it will be sometime yet before the Co-operative Societies can achieve the objective set by the Planning Commission, to give the social structure and the national economy a distinction and a sense of value. There should be more to co-operation than economic improvement. Several Committees proposed administrative reforms of such Societies. Whether they needed rationalisation of procedure is a question. Some persons think that there is deepening disagreement about the role of Co-operatives in this country. According to others some State Governments seem singularly tardy in de-officialising Cooperatives and refer to such Societies in foreign Countries. But it is again profitable to remember that there is no specific identifiable pattern of the Co-operative Societies in the Western countries. Europe places much greater value to the inter-group co-operation than does the United States. Therefore, the record of Co-operative enterprise in those countries would not be of much assistance to India, which has, by trial and error, still to find her own pattern.

( 5 ) IF we now come back, after a little digression, to certain, provisions of the Act. Rules and the By-Laws touching the instant case and specially the powers of the Registrar of the Cooperative Societies, we find that in the definition section being Section 2, "dispute" in Clause (J) thereof means any matter capable of being the subject of civil litigation and includes the claim in respect of any sum payable to or by a Cooperative Society whether such claim be admitted or not. The provisions of the Indian Companies Act, 1913, were made inapplicable to Co-operative Societies, Section 6. Sections 9 and 10 provide inter alia for the appointment of the Registrar and conferment of me powers of the Registrar. Sections 18 and 14 provide, thai: along with the application