The managing committee of a cooperative society does not have the authority to remove a member from membership; such a decision must be made by the General Body of the Society, and the member must be given an opportunity to represent their case before any decision is taken.

( 1 ) BY this petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India Smt. Swaraj Soni has prayed for a writ. of certiorari to quash the show cause notice dated October 15, 1987 and the final order dated December 9, 1987 passed by the managing committee of the Rehabilitation Ministry Employees Cooperative House Building Society Limited (hereinafter to be referred to as the society ). The Managing committe of the Society has informed the petitioner vide the impugned letter dated December 9,1987 that "she did not fulfil the basic condition of being an employee or ex-employee of the Ministry/department of Rehabilitation or any of its subordinate offices and, thus, no longer can be treated as valid member of the Society. . . "

( 2 ) BRIEFLY stated the case of the petitioner has been that she was a displaced person and was an employee of the Department of Social Welfare a subordinate office of the Ministry of Rehabilitation. The petitioner applied for enrolment as a member of the Society in 1971. After approval of her membership her name was entered in the register of members at S. No. 647 Her membership was re-affirmed by the Society in the year 1976. She had regularly been making payment to the Society as and when a demand was made and a total sum of Rs. 41. 100. 00 has been deposited by her with the Society.

( 3 ) A notice dated October 15, 1987 was sent to the petitioner to showcause as to why her name be not removed from the list of members eligible for allotment of plots. A reply dated October 28,1987 was sent to the Society by the petitioner in which she had made a demand for certain documents and inter-alia pleaded that she could be removed from the membership only on the ground of non-payment of dues and that she had worked in the Social Welfare Directorate which was. wing of Rehabilitation and she has never defaulted even by a single day in making payment. It has further been pleaded by her that she had placed on record a number of documents including a certificate from the Deputy Director to prove that she was an employee of the Social Welfare Directorate, Women Section and if this question about her employment status had been raised in 1971 it would have been possible for her to trace some other documentary evidence also. She has now challenged the impugned order on various grounds including the jurisdiction or authority of the managing committee to remove the petitioner from the membership of the Society since it has no power to do so which vests only in the General Body of the Society. It has further been pleaded that the Society could not delegate its power to the Government to decide about the employment status and the documents already furnished were sufficient to prove her employment status.

( 4 ) THIS writ. petition has. been opposed by the Society, respondent No. 1. It has, inter alia, pleaded that the Society was established in 1959 for the purpose of obtaining from the Government of India, respondent No. 2 land for the purpose of housing of the Rehabilitation Ministry Employees and the basic condition for membership of the Society was employment in the Rehabilitation Ministry.

( 5 ) CLAUSE 5 of the Bye-laws provided the eligibility criteria for becoming a member. An employee or ex-employee of the Ministry of Rehabilitation including its subordinate offices in Delhi/new Delhi were made eligible. A power was also given to the Society, to make eligible persons, other than displaced persons, members also. The Bye-laws were subsequently amended and the following clause (iii) was added to Clause 5 of the Bye-laws : Clause 5 (iii) he/she is/has been an employee of the Ministries in Delhi/new Delhi of which the Department of Rehabilitation has been a part from time to time, under one Minister/minister of State etc. "

( 6 ) THIS clause was made applicable with retrospective effect from January 10, 1968 by virtue of a notification issued by the Lt. Governor of Delhi.

( 7 ) IT has also been plead