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 servic