S.S.SANDHAWALIA, J.

1. Whether a Society registered under the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, which in essence is an instrumentality or agency of the State, would become amenable to the writ jurisdiction under the provisions of Art.226 of the Constitution of India, is the meaningful question which has necessitated this reference to the Full Bench. Inevitably at issue in this context is the necessary elaboration or qualification of the ratio of the earlier Full Bench case in Ajmer Singh V/s. Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Punjab, AIR 1981 Punj and Har 107.

2. The facts deserve notice only in so far as they are relevant to the pristine issue aforesaid. The Punjab State Co-operative Land Mortgage Bank Ltd. respondent No.3 (hereinafter called the Mortgage Bank ) is an Apex Society, which on the petitioner s own showing is registered under the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, 1961 . Pritam Singh Gill, the writ petitioner, was originally appointed as a Legal Assistant in the Mortgage Bank on 15th March, 1963. It is averred that he was later promoted as Assistant Secretary (Admn.) in the year 1969. He was prematurely retired with effect from 1st June, 1974 from the service of the Mortgage Bank order the orders of its Administrator. He later illegally attempted to join the Bank and ultimately vide Annexure-P-24, the impugned order of the Managing Director, it was directed that he stands retired from the service of the Mortgage Bank, with effect from Ist June, 1974 and was consequently relieved forthwith from his duties.

3. The writ petitioner primarily seeks a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the impugned order of retirement Annexure-P-24, and it was the common case that the primary relief sought was against the Mortgage Bank, respondent No.3.

4. This case first came up before my learned brother I.S. Tiwana, J., sitting singly. Before him on the very threshold a preliminary objection was raised that no writ of certiorari lay against the respondent Mortgage Bank, which was a registered co-operative society and against whom the primary and indeed the only relief was sought to be claimed. Primary reliance for this preliminary objection was placed on the Full Bench judgement of this Court in Ajmer case (AIR 1981 Punj and Har 107) (supra). However, on behalf of the writ petitioner the firm stand taken was that the respondent Mortgage Bank was in essence an instrumentality or an agency of the State itself, and, therefore, in view of the subsequent decisions of their Lordships in Som Prakash Rakhi V/s. Union of India, AIR 1981 SC 212 and Ajay Hasia V/s. Khalid Mujib, AIR 1981 SC 487, a writ of certiorari would lie against the Mortgage Bank despite the fact that it was a registered co-operative society. Noticing that in case the stand of the petitioner, that the Mortgage Bank was in essence an instrumentality of the State, were to be accepted then the view in Ajmer Singh s case (AIR 1981 Punj and Har 107) (FB) (supra) might well require some qualification in view of the observations made in the later decisions of the Supreme Court, the learned single Judge has referred the matter to the Full Bench.

5. Now in view of the reference order, the learned counsel for the parties were in total agreement that at the very threshold the issue which calls for determination is that on the assumption that the Mortgage Bank is an instrumentality of the State, would it, therefore, become amenable to a writ of certiorari despite the admitted fact that it is incorporated under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961. It is this aspect to which, we must first turn our attention.

6. It is manifest from the above that the issue herein arises in the context of the provisions of the Punjab Co-operative Land Mortgage Banks Act, 1957 (hereinafter called the Mortgage Banks Act ) read with Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, 1961 (hereinafter called the Act ). That being so it is obvious and indeed it was the common stand of the learned