Palaniswami, J.- This petition is filed by Gopal, Chief Promoter of Tamil Nadu Road Transport Financing Cooperative Society, Limited, Madras to quash the order of the Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Madras, the first respondent herein, dated 14th March, 1970, under which the first respondent nominated eight persons as members of the committee of management of the petitioner society. Gopal and nine others promoted the petitioner society for the purpose of providing cheap and convenient credit facilities to small lorry owners for purchase of vehicles. About 15o members were enrolled. The promoters proposed to the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies a panel of names of shareholders for the committee of management. The Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies purported to nominate eight persons as members of the committee of management by virtue of the powers conferred on him under Transitory Bye-law No. 20 of the Bye-laws of the petitioner society. It is to quash this proceeding that this writ petition has been filed.

2. The ground, upon which the proceeding is sought to be quashed, is that under the provisions of the Madras Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), the Joint Registrar, purporting to act on behalf of the Government, has no jurisdiction to nominate any person to be a member of the committee if that person is not already a member of the society. Out Of the eight persons nominated by the Joint Registrar, one is the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, who is ex-officio member and for whose nomination there is no objection. Out of the remaining 7, two alone are members of the society and the rest 5 are non-members. The petitioner takes objection to the nomination of these five non-members.

3. The relevant provision of the Act that confers powers upon the Government to make nomination is contained in section 27 of the Act. Sub-section (1) of that section reads thus:

27 Appointment of committees:

(1) The general body of a registered society shall constitute a committee in accordance with the bye-laws and entrust the management of the affairs of the registered society to such committee Provided that, in the case of a society registered after the commencement of this Act, the persons who have signed the application to register the society may appoint a committee to conduct the affairs of the society for a period of three months from the date of registration or for such further period as the Registrar may consider necessary ; but the committee appointed under this proviso shall cease to function as soon as a committee has been constituted in accordance with the by-laws:

Provided further that where the bye-laws so provide, the Government or the Registrar may nominate all or any of the members of the committee for such period as may be specified in the byelaws.

Bye-law 20 of the Bye-laws framed by the petitioner society deals with constitution of the committee. Sub-clause (1) of that by-law inter alia states that the executive management of the affairs of the society shall vest in a committee consisting of not more than 9 members of whom an official of the Co-operative Department and an officer not below the rank of the R.T.O. in the office of the Commissioner of Transport, Madras, shall be the ex-officio members of the committee and that the remaining 7 shall be elected. Transitory Bye-law No. 20, under which the Joint Registrar, first respondent, has purported to make the impugned nomination of nine persons, reads:

" Notwithstanding anything contained in these bye-laws, the first set of the members of the committee including the President and Vice-President may be nominated by the Registrar for a period of 3 years, which if found necessary may be extended, to a further period of 3 years at the discretion of the Registrar. Such nomination may at the discretion of the Registrar, be made for a period of one year or such shorter period as may be found necessary at a time".

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