JUDGMENT

Saurabh Banerjee, J.

FACTUAL MATRIX:

1. The petitioner is a member store of the respondent no.1 Society-The Delhi Consumer Co-operative Wholesale Store Limited^{1[Hereinafter referred to as "Society"]} which was registered in the year 1962 under The Bombay Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 later under The Delhi Co-operative Societies Act, 1972^{2[Hereinafter referred to as "1972 Act"]} (repealed by The Delhi Co- operative Societies Act, 2003^{3[Hereinafter referred to as "2003 Act"]} ) with the principal object of doing wholesale and retail business in consumer goods as per their bye-laws. As per bye-law 22(a) of the Society, its Managing Committee consisted of nine members, out of which five members including the President, Vice-President, Secretary and two members, were to be nominated by the Administrator, respondent no.3- Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi^{4[Hereinafter referred to as "Delhi Government"]} and the remaining four members, were to be elected at the general meeting. The Society had more than 300 members contributing more than 75% of their issued equity share capital. Presently, 98 out of 200 registered member stores are reported to be active members. The elections of the Managing Committee of the Society^{5[Hereinafter referred to as "Committee"]} were held after a gap of twenty-seven years on June 24, 2001. That on 17 October, 2002, a Show Cause Notice under Section 32 of the 2003 Act was issued by the respondent no.2-Registrar, Co-operative Societies^{6[Hereinafter referred to as "Registrar"]} to the Society, whereafter few primary member stores of the Society filed W.P.(C) 18636-39/2004 titled Sudhar Sabha Consumer Cooperative Store Ltd. & Ors. v. Delhi Consumer Co-operative Wholesale Store Ltd. & Ors., which, on the basis of a statement made by the counsel for respondents therein, was disposed of by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court on December 19, 2005 with a direction to hold elections within a period of eight weeks. Thereafter, similar writ petition being W.P.(C) 13468/2006 titled M/s. Goodwill Consumer Co- operative Store vs. The Delhi Consumer Cooperative Store & Ors. filed by another member of the Society was also disposed of by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court on September 5, 2006, once again, with a direction to hold elections within six weeks.

2. Despite the aforesaid orders, no elections were held since the Committee consisting of nine members had seven members nominated by the Delhi Government. The said dominance and control of the Society by the Delhi Government was flowing from Section 35(10)(cc) of the 2003 Act which permitted the Delhi Government to substitute the elected members with its nominees in proportion to the issued equity share capital held by it.

CASE OF PETITIONER:

3. Being aggrieved, the petitioner filed the present writ petition seeking declaration of Section 35(10)(cc) of the 2003 Act as ultra vires and for passing of a writ of mandamus or any other writ or direction(s) to the Society and Delhi Government to conduct time bound elections of the Committee within a period of three months based on membership records along with any other relief/s against the Society, Registrar and the Delhi Government, primarily on the grounds that Section 35(10)(cc) of the 2003 Act not only usurped different powers of the Committee but also gave complete control to the Delhi Government and was against Section 30 and other provisions of the 2003 Act.

4. Learned counsel for petitioner, relying upon Mani Ram v. State of Haryana, AIR 1996 P&H 92, contended that Section 35(10)(cc) of the 2003 Act is in violation of Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India and further relying upon S.S. Dhanoa v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors., AIR 1981 SC 1395, contended that a co- operative society is a body created by an act of a group of individuals in accordance with the provisions of the statute and as an effect, under rule 25 of the 2003 Act, it should be run on the principle of one member