JUDGMENT :

BHARGAV D. KARIA, J.

1. Heard learned Senior Advocate Mr. B.S.Patel for learned advocate Mr. Chirag B. Patel for the petitioners and learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Dhawan Jayswal for the respondent-State.

2. RULE returnable forthwith. Learned Agp Mr. Jayswal waives service of rule on behalf of the respondent-State.

3. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:

“A. Your Lordship may be pleased to issue a writ of prohibition/mandamus and/or any other appropriate writ, order or direction quashing and setting aside the show cause notice dated 12-16/12/2019 at Annexure A tot eh petition passed by respondent No.2.

B. Your Lordship may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus and/or any other appropriate writ, order or direction quashing and setting aside the inquiry report prepared by respondent No.3 on 29.11.2019 at Annexure B to the petition.

C. Your Lordship may be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus and/or any other appropriate writ, order or direction commanding respondent No.1 to instruct all the subordinate Registrars not to touch the election matter in any co-operative society as per the law settled by the Hon’ble Court;

D. Pending admission, hearing and final disposal of the petition, Your Lordship may be pleased to stay the operation, execution and implementation of the proceedings in pursuance of the show cause notice dated 12-16/12/2019 issued by respondent No.2 at Annexure A to the petition;

E. Cost of this petition may kindly be awarded;

F. Any other and further relief or reliefs to which this Hon’ble Court deemed fit, in the interest of justice; may kindly be granted.”

4. It is the case of the petitioner that …

4.1. The petitioner No.1 is a co-operative society registered under the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961. Petitioner Nos. 2 to 9 are elected members of the petitioner society.

4.2) The election of the Managing Committee was held on 20.05.2019. One Amrutbhai Devjibhai Patel, petitioner No.6 has been duly elected as the Chairman of the society in the Annual General Meeting on 19.06.2019 and a report of the meeting has been forwarded to respondent No.2-District Registrar.

4.3. The District Registrar Co-operative Societies-respondent No.2 appointed the Cooperative Officer-respondent No.3 as Inquiry Officer without affording opportunity of hearing to the petitioner-society to conduct inquiry that whether the petitioner Nos. 2 to 9 were qualified to contest the election or not.

4.4 Upon receipt of the report from respondent No.3, respondent No.2 issued a show-cause notice dated 12.12.2019 for removal as well as disqualification of the petitioners from the committee of the petitioner No.1- Society under section 76B of the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961.

5. Learned Senior Advocate Mr. Patel submitted that respondent No.2-District Registrar of the Co-operative Societies has no jurisdiction to issue impugned show-cause notice under section 76B of the Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act, 1961 [for short ‘the Act,1961’] for alleged contravention of the By-law No. 9(A)(4) of the petitioner-society as a complaint was filed before the respondent No.2 to cancel the nomination forms of twelve committee members as they were not qualified to contest the election of Executive Committee of the petitioner-society in view of the By-law No.9.

6.It was submitted that this Court in case of Bhadreshkumar Ramanlal Patel and ors vs. State of Gujarat and ors reported in 1999 (3) GLR 2549 has held that the remedy for taking action to challenge the election of any person to an office to is to file election petition and not initiation of proceedings under section 76B of the Act, 1961. It was therefore submitted that if the authority or the other person is aggrieved by the election of the members of the Executive Committee of the petitioner-society as it pertains to Constitution of the petitioner-society, remedy would be under section 96 of the Act, 1