The Registrar of Co-operative Societies cannot treat an application for registration of a Co-operative Society as cancelled. The Registrar has to either register the Society or refuse to register it and give reasons for the same. The Registrar cannot keep an application in a state of suspense without either registering the Society or refusing to register it.

This is an application by the Ukhrul Road Public Carriers Association, Paona Bazar Road, for a writ of mandamus directing the respondent, the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Manipur, to register the Association of the petitioner under Sec. 11 of the Assam Cooperative Societies Act, 1949 after setting aside the order of the Registrar, namely, Annexure-H, dated 8-3-1961, informing the petitioner-association that their proposal for organisation of the Transport Society was treated as cancelled.

2. The petitioner-association was formed in April, 1958, consisting of 16 members who are all owners of motor vehicles, operating in the Imphal-Ukhrul Road. The Association, through its Secretary, applied on 24-2-1959 to the Registrar of Co-operative Societies for the registration of the said Association as a Co-operative Society. They wars directed by Annexure-A, dated 4-3-1959 to furnish a fist of the promoters of the said Association and accordingly the list Annexure-B/1 was submitted. Thereafter, the Inspector of Co-operative Societies, informed them by Annexure-B, dated 14-5-1959 that Model Bye-laws, were being prepared and that subsequently an Officer would be deputed to organise the Society. A further letter Annexure-C was sent on 14-7-1959 by the Inspector of Co-operative Societies, requesting all the interested persons to be present on 18-7-1959 at the Office of, the Association. Another letter, Annexure-D was sent on 24-7-1959, requesting the Secretary of the Association to show a Financial Statement from April, 1958 and Balance Sheet etc. as per the instructions given by the Inspector on the- day of his visit The next letter from the Inspector is Annexure-E dated 2-9-1959, stating that an enquiry will be held in connection with the intensification of the registration on 7-9-1959, whatever the word intensification may mean. The next letter is Annexure-F dated 5-10-1959, which is the same as Annexure-B/2, filed for the respondent, in which certain directions were given to the Association with reference to their application for registration. It is not necessary for us to go in detail into those directions. In short, it directed that the is promoters should certify that they were not members of any other transport society and will not join any other transport society, that they would give the number and licence of the buses or lorries or other vehicles to be brought into the proposed society, that the promoters should ply the vehicles only in the Imphal Ukhrul Road, that at least 2 trucks for the Society should be owned within 6 months of registration, which would be a condition for the registration, that the promoters must raise 8 share capital of Rs. 8,000/- at the rate of Rs. 500/- per promoter, and that all the promoters must be residents of Imphal Municipal Area or within a distance of 5 miles front it.

3. After this letter was sent, it appears that there was no further correspondence for a period of nearly 1½ years. I also find that another application from 26 persons including 2 members of the petitioner-association was received by the Registrar for registration as a Co-operative Society and the Litan Ukhrul Road Transport Society was given registration by the Registrar on 17-1-1961 as a So-operative Society. It would appear that when this other Society was registered, the petitioner who had for about 1½ years kept quiet on receipt of Annexure-F in October, 1959, suddenly woke up and sent the letter Annexure-C/1 on 30-1-1961 to the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, giving the replies to the directions contained in Annexure-F and requesting that the Association may be registered as a Co-operative Society. It would appear that on 6-2-1961, the. Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, one V. Gopal Singh, visited the petitioners premises in Paona Bazar, Imphal, and gave the certificate Annexure-G, stating that he found that the Association was working satisfactorily. On 3-2-1961, the petitioner appears to have