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2020 Supreme(Guj) 901
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
VIKRAM NATH, ASHUTOSH J. SHASTRI, JJ.
The Valiyampura Vibhagiya Group Khetpedash Kharid Vechan Ane Processing Sahkari Mandli – Appellant
Versus
The Director – Respondent
Letters Patent Appeal No. 1409 of 2019, Special Civil Application No. 10999 of 2019, Civil Application (For Interim Relief) No. 1 of 2019, Civil Application (For Joining Party) No. 2 of 2019, Civil Application (For Orders) Nos. 3, 4, 5 of 2019
Decided On : 24-12-2020
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Mr. Dilip B. Rana.
For the Respondents: Mr. S.M. Sojatwala, Ms. Manisha L. Shah, Mr. J.K. Shah.
Point of Law: relevant provisions of AMPC Act and Rules framed thereunder pertaining to license were considered by the learned Single Judge visavis Article 14 and 226 of the Constitution of India. It is accordingly submitted that when the list of final voters is over on 10.07.2019, at a belated stage no direction can be given
Headnote:
Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 - Section 11(1)(iii) – Interim relief - Appellants they are holding general licenses for year and also for current year and their accounts were audited by Auditor of Government, wherein they were given assessment Class-B by the auditor - It is case of appellants that after following due procedure bye-laws of respective appellant societies came to be amended which according to appellants were approved by Additional District Registrar on respectively - Appellants have stated that Director of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Rural Finance having passed an order on appointing the authorized officer to conduct the election and as such present appellant
Finding of the Court:
Since we are satisfied that close scrutiny of the record is leading to a situation where we find no merit in Letters Patent Appeal as a result of this court see no error committed by learned Single Judge accordingly court hereby dismiss the Letters Patent Appeal leaving it open to appellants to agitate the basic grievance before the appropriate forum if so advised - Interim relief if any stands vacated forthwith - Election is already over and essential grievance is around issue of non-inclusion of appellants in voter list same can be agitated by appellants before appropriate forum in view of observations made in the decision delivered by the Full Bench of this Court - Relevant extract of same in a very summarized manner court reproduce hereunder which is taken out from recent decision of learned Single Judge reported in case of Cooperative Service Society –
Result: Civil Applications stand disposed of.
JUDGMENT :
ASHUTOSH J. SHASTRI, J.
1. The appellants-original petitioners have filed present Letters Patent Appeal under clause 15 of the Letters Patent Act, being aggrieved by and feeling dissatisfied with the judgment and order dated 10.7.2019 passed in Special Civil Application No. 10999 of 2019, by which the appellants’ petition came to be dismissed.
2. Background of facts is that the appellants are the societies registered under the provisions of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 and are situated within the market area of the respondent No. 3-Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Talod (APMC, Talod). According to the appellants, they are holding general licenses for the year 2018-19 and also for the current year 2019-20 and their accounts were audited by the Auditor of the Government, wherein they were given assessment Class-B by the auditor. It is the case of the appellants that after following due procedure, bye-laws of the respective appellant societies came to be amended, which according to the appellants were approved by the Additional District Registrar on 22.2.2016 and 28.2.2016 respectively. Thus, according to the appellants, though societies were eligible to be included in the voter’s list of the constituency of the Cooperative Marketing Societies as per the provisions contained under Section 11(1)(iii) of the APMC Act, Director of Agricultural Marketing Rural Finance (AMRF) has declared only one seat for the constituency of the Cooperative Marketing Society.
2.1. The appellants have stated that the Director of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Rural Finance having passed an order on 24.5.2019, appointing the authorized officer to conduct the election and as such, the present appellant No. 1 society initially preferred Special Civil Application No. 9898 of 2019 before this Court, wherein vide order dated 14.6.2019, the Court directed the Director, AMRF to decide the representation and thereby the petition came to be disposed of. Subsequently, the Director, AMRF passed an order on 21.6.2019 confirming one seat for the constituency of the Cooperative Marketing Society, which has given rise to filing of petition.
2.2. The appellants have preferred the afore-mentioned petition basically by contending that as per the record of AMPC, Talod, total 5 societies were holding General License of AMPC and as such, 2 seats are to be allotted for the constituency of Cooperative Marketing Society. However, the Director, AMRF has erroneously confirmed one seat only for the constituency of Cooperative Marketing Society and as such, said order came to be challenged.
2.3. It appears that after completion of the pleadings, the matter came up for consideration before learned Single Judge, who, after hearing at length, was pleased to dismiss the petition vide order dated 10.7.2019, which is made the subject matter of the present Letters Patent Appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent before us.
2.4. In this Letters Patent Appeal, on 22.7.2019, the Division Bench was pleased to issue notice and after hearing the respective learned advocates, the appeal came to be admitted on 8.8.2019 and by a detailed order, the appellant societies were permitted to submit their nomination forms subject to outcome of the appeal. The said detailed order reads as under:-
“Appeal is admitted.
Mr. Dilip Rana, learned advocate appearing for the appellants has drawn our attention to Section 11(1)(iii) of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act, 1963 (“APMC Act” for short) pertaining to constitution of market committee which provides two representatives of the cooperative marketing societies situate in the market area, holding general licenses, engaged in the business in conformity with their respective objects and have their last accounts audited in Class A, B or C, as the case may be to be elected from amongst the members other than nominal, associate or sympathiser members of such societies by the members of the managing committees of s
