The court's exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 to settle the controversy and dispose of the impending arbitration proceedings.

( 1 ) WITH the consent of the parties, writ petition is taken up for disposal.

( 2 ) THE petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking to assail the order dated 14. 2. 2000, passed by the Registrar, Co-operative Societies in Case No. RCS/126/99 / 118-124. By this order. Registrar had taken cognizance under Section 60 and referred the disputes for arbitration under Section 61 of the Delhi Co-operative Societies Act, 1972, (hereinafter referred to as the Act ) to Mr. D. S. Nijjer, Joint Registrar. It may be noted that prior to invocation of arbitration, respondents 1 and 2 had instituted a civil suit for permanent injunction in the Civil Court. It appears that petitioners herein took objection to the maintainability of the suit on the ground that since Section 60 of the Act provides for arbitration in a dispute between the member and the Society, the civil suit was not maintainable. Respondent Nos. 2 and 3, in view of the objection withdrew the civil suit. It may be noted that respondent No. 1 had not succeeded in obtaining an interim injunction in the suit and had gone in appeal, which appeal became infructuous in view of the withdrawal of the suit. The petitioners herein have now sought to assail the order of reference of the disputes to the Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, by this writ petition.

( 3 ) LEARNED Counsel for the respondents at the outset submitted that such a writ petition would not be maintainable as it was to meet the objection of the petitioners on the maintainability of civil suit, that the respondents had invoked the statutory arbitration and initiated proceedings under Section 60 of the Act. Petitioner cannot be allowed to approbate and reprobate. While Counsel for the petitioner was being heard on the question of maintainability of the writ petition. Counsel for both the parties sought to address me on the merits of the controversy between the parties to the writ petition.

( 4 ) THE relevant facts and the rival submissions may be briefly noted:

RESPONDENTS 2 and 3 are the owners of House Nos. A-13 and A-14, Anand niketan, New Delhi. Unfortunately the line of houses of A-l to A-14 does not have a service lane at the rear. This has increased the difficulty of these house owners. The case of respondent Nos. 3 and 4 is that utility services such as sewerage, water, telephone etc. pass at the rear of their houses, and are located within the club area i. e. property of petitioners 1 and 2. Very often there is back flow of sewage and urgent remedial measures are required to be taken. To take care of this situation, after negotiations and correspondence with the Secretary of the petitioner Nos. 1 and 2, a room and a box like structure were constructed. Two doors were provided which gave access to the service area, through the box like structure. These are duly depicted in the plan filed as Annexure B to the counter to writ petition filed by respondents 2 and 3. The club area where the services are located is at a raised level

( 5 ) THE whole dispute between the parties centres around whether respondents 2 and 3 should have unilateral and uninterrupted access to this and other areas, or it ought to be regulated by the petitioners. Counsel for the petitioner society and club submitted that the land is admittedly the property of Society and the service area and the box made by erection of walls is also in the club area. This aspect is not disputed by Counsel for respondents 2 and 3.

( 6 ) LEARNED Counsel for the respondents heavily relies on aletter dated 7. 4. 1994, written by the respondents to the Society, acknowledged by the petitioners vide letter dated 10. 4. 1994. These recorded the arrangement to be followed with regard to the access to the respondents and others for maintenance of essential services. The relevant operative portion of the respondents letter of 7. 4. 1994 is as under:

"the access to the service area behind A-13 and A-14 will not pe restricted. If a new wall or other such