JUDGMENT :

1. RULE. Learned advocates appear and waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of the respective respondents.

2. The present writ petition stems out of the order dated 03.02.2023 passed by the respondent No.4–Presiding Officer i.e. Election Officer, Agriculturist Constituency, Agriculture Produce Market Committee, Vijapur, wherein and whereby the respondent No.4 has restrained the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 to vote in the agriculturist constituency for the election of Agriculture produce Market Committee (APMC), Vijapur, on 03.02.2023.

3. The brief facts leading to filing of the present writ petition are as under :

3.1 The Vajapur Seva Sahakari Mandali Limited-Respondent no.7 is a cooperative society and is registered as a Cooperative Society under the Gujarat Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (the Act). The election of the APMC, Vijapur came to be declared on 17.08.2022 by the respondent No.2–Director, Agriculture Marketing and Rural Finance and accordingly, the election program dated 17.08.2022 was published.

3.2 The preliminary voters list was published on 02.09.2022. It is the case of the petitioners that the name of the society was included in the voters list in the capacity as members of the Managing Committee and the names of the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 were included in the voters list. There was an objection raised by one Shri Jayantibhai Ambalal Patel against the inclusion of the name of the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 in the voters list. It was also requested by him that the names of the newly elected Committee of the Society may be included in the voters list by deleting the names of the petitioner Nos.1 to 10.

3.3 The Authorised Officer, after hearing the objectors as well as the Committee of the Society vide order dated 22.09.2022 rejected the names of the objectors and continued the names of the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 in the voters list. The provisional voters list was published on 22.09.2022 and the names of the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 were continued in the voters list at Serial No.154 to 164.

3.4 The final voters list was published on 03.10.2022, wherein the names of the APMC and the members of the Managing Committee of the APMC were shown, which included the names of the petitioner Nos.1 to 10. Because of the declaration of the election of the Legislative Assembly, the election of the APMC were suspended and stopped and only after the declaration of the result of the Legislative Assembly elections, the election process of the APMC was commenced from the stage where it was stopped and accordingly, the respondent No.2–Director vide order dated 17.01.2023 issued the election program of the APMC for the remaining stages and according to which, the voting was to take place on 03.02.2023. It is the case of the petitioners that when the voting for the election commenced on 03.02.2023 and the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 went to vote at about 11:30 a.m., the respondent No.4–Presiding Officer restrained the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 from voting on the ground that the respondent No.5–Jayantibhai Girdharbhai Patel has raised the objections against permitting the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 from voting.

3.5 It appears that upon the insistence of the petitioners, the Presiding Officer passed the impugned order dated 03.02.2023. It is the case of the petitioners that the said order dated 03.02.2023 has been supplied to the petitioners at about 4:45 p.m. just minutes before completion of the voting.

CONTENTIONS OF THE PETITIONERS:

4. Learned Senior Advocate Mr. Mihir Joshi, appearing with learned advocate Mr. Dipen Desai, for the petitioners has submitted that the Presiding Officer has acted de hors the statutory provisions of the Act and hence, the impugned order as well as the action taken by the Presiding Officer– respondent No.4 is required to be quashed and set aside. It is submitted that if the petitioner Nos.1 to 10 were permitted to vote, the entire election of the concerned Committee of the Society would have been altered.

4.1 Learned Senio