Writ petitions are not maintainable against private bodies unless they are discharging public functions; a limited membership does not imply such status.

JUDGMENT

Rekha Palli, J. (Oral)--The petitioner has approached this Court assailing the election notices dated 28.02.2022 and 18.04.2022 issued by the respondent nos.1 & 2, the election officers appointed for conducting elections for the management committee of the respondent no.4/All India Motor Transport Congress for the term 2022-24. The petitioner also seeks a consequential direction to the respondent nos.1 & 2 to initiate the process of conducting elections after 01.07.2022, which he claims is necessary as per the Articles of Association of the respondent no.4.

2. The petitioner is the Managing Director of the Karnataka Freight Movers Pvt. Ltd and claims to be a lifetime member of the respondent no.4 company, as also a member of its `bye-laws committee'. While the respondent no.4 is a private company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 having been established, inter alia with the object to protect and promote the interests of persons engaged in the business of motor transport in the country, the respondent nos. 1 & 2 are the Election Officers appointed to conduct elections for the Managing Committee of the respondent no.4 for the term 2022-24. The respondent no.4 is a private company, which had been established to cater to the needs and interests of the transporters across India.

3. An election notice for conducting elections for the post of members of the Managing Committee of the respondent no.4/All India Motor Transport Congress for the term, 2021-2023 was issued on 21.10.2021 by the respondent no.1 who was appointed as the Chief Election Officer by the respondent no.4. The elections could, however, not take place in 2021 and were therefore, deferred for the term, i.e., 2022-2024.

4. On 28.02.2022, upon an election notice being issued by the respondent nos.1 & 2, the petitioner learnt that the respondent no.2 had also been appointed as an Election Officer to conduct the elections for the Management Committee of the respondent no.4 company. It was stipulated in the said election notice that on account of delay in the election process, the term of the Management Committee would stand revised from the year 2021-23 to 2022-24.

5. Aggrieved by the issuance of the election notice, the petitioner made representations to the respondent nos.1 & 2 on 24.03.2022 which was followed by a representation to the respondent no.4 on 28.03.2022. These representations of the petitioner, wherein he had raised his grievances against the proposed elections, did not elicit any response from the respondents and on 18.04.2022, the respondent nos. 1 & 2, issued yet another election notice for the elections to the Management Committee of the respondent no.4. It is in these circumstances that the petitioner has approached this Court assailing the election notices dated 28.02.2022 and 18.04.2022 and is seeking a direction for holding the elections strictly in accordance with the Articles of Association of the respondent no.4.

6. The petition is vehemently opposed by the respondents by first contending that the petitioner, not being a member of respondent no.4, has no locus to approach this Court. They contend that merely because the petitioner is the Managing Director of a company, which is a member of the respondent no.4, it would not entitle him to challenge the election thereof and that too, without placing on record any resolution to this effect by M/s Karnataka Freight Movers Private Limited, of which he is a Managing Director. They then contend that even otherwise, since the respondent no.4 being a purely private body, is only one of the various associations established to cater to the in