( 1 ) THESE petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution challenge the Resolution dated 20-1-2007 passed by the Agricultural Produce Market committee, Kalavad (for brevity "a. P. M. C. " or the Market Committee") for granting trader s licences to 293 persons which would have the effect of including them in the voters list for constituency called the traders holding general licences under clause (ii) of sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 11 of the Agricultural Produce Markets act, 1963 (for brevity "the Act" or "the A. P. M. Act" ). The petitioners have mainly contended that the new licences were issued in a surreptitious manner on 20-1-2007 after the Director of Agricultural marketing and Rural Finance, Gujarat State decided on 10-1-2007 to declare the election program for elections to A. P. M. C. , Kalavad and the election program was declared on 18-1-2007. It is contended that the issue of licences was not only contrary to the statutory provisions of the A. P. M. Act and the Rules, but was also done on such a large-scale as to subvert the democratic process by creating artificial majority for the Chairman of the outgoing Committee.

( 2 ) THE facts leading to filing of these peti