ORDER :

Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a Writ of Certiorari, to call for the records of 1st Respondent letter dated 8.12.2017 vide No. R-11017/90/2017-L&M the 2nd Respondent Letter No. Rc. 85210/2017 BI-3 dated 20.12.2017 and the letter of the 3rd Respondent in Rc. No. 64/2018/C2, dated 10.01.2018 and to quash the same.

1. The petitioner is the Air Corporation Employees Cooperative Credit Society Limited, a thrift society comprising of members of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines Limited including Pilots, Cabin Crews, Managerial staff, Ground staff and other sections of employees, hereinafter referred to as “Society.” It is registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002, hereinafter referred to, in short as “Act.”

2. The petitioner challenges a communication from the third respondent, i.e. the Additional Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Chennai/R3 dated 10.01.2018 proposing to conduct an inspection to enquire into the records of the Society including the conduct of the General Body Meeting held in 2015 including the election of office bearers and the subsequent expulsion of members.

Facts

3. The impugned proceedings have been instigated by two complaints dated 19.03.2016 and 28.10.2016 filed by members, and forwarded by the Air Corporation Employees Union to R1 alleging serious irregularities in the conduct of elections. One of the members who had expressed disgruntlement has been impleaded as R5 and has filed a separate counter as well as vacate stay petition in support of his stand.

4. R5, who was an employee of an Air India had been expelled from membership and this was also one of the causes for complaint. The complainants urged that an inspection of the books and accounts of the Society be conducted in terms of Section 108 of the Act.

5. R5 has cast various allegations upon the conduct of the general body election conducted in 2004. He alleges that the then President had claimed his tenure to be of 5 years which is itself contrary to the bye-laws. The conduct of proceedings during his tenure was also opposed to the byelaws and several records were fabricated. Those of the members who had raised objections to the improper manner in which the proceedings were being conducted were simply expelled.

6. On 18.02.2016, some members had sent a joint representation to R2 highlighting the alleged irregularities and asking for the appointment of a Special Officer. Since there was no action taken on the representation filed, W.P. No. 20521 of 2016 had come to be filed praying for a mandamus to direct R2 to consider the representation.

7. The Writ Petition was dismissed on 17.06.2016, this Court observing that since the matter pertained to election, it was always open to the aggrieved parties to move the concerned authorities by way of an election petition.

8. 485 members of the society thereafter wrote to R2 on 04.07.2016 seeking the conduct of an enquiry in regard to the alleged irregularities in the functioning of the petitioner society. As a measure of forestalling the action initiated by the members including R5, a show cause notice was issued to R5 on 23.07.2016 levelling various allegations against him.

9. Despite an explanation tendered by R5, he was expelled under cover of letter dated 13.08.2016 pursuant to a resolution purported to have been passed in a special general body meeting held on 13.08.2016.

10. Undaunted by the expulsion, R5 made representations again on 29.07.2016 and 28.10.2016 to R2 and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to look into the irregularities in the matter. The CVC forwarded the representation to the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, who thereafter initiated the impugned train of proceedings.

11. The Petitioner, upon enquiry, had come to know that though proceedings had, in fact, been initiated by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, New Delhi/R1, R1 had, vide letter dated 08.12.2017 deputed the