Hon'ble Dilip B. Bhosale, C.J. and Yashwant Varma, J.—The questions which have been referred for the opinion of the larger Bench, are whether there can be a mandamus commanding the Authorized Controller/District Magistrate to hold election of office bearers of a registered society contrary to the provisions of Section 25 (2) of the Societies Registration Act, 1860?; and in the facts of the case, in absence of determination of the electoral college in terms of the directions dated 3.10.2007 issued in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 48538 of 2007, whether there could be a direction to the Authorized Controller/District Magistrate to hold elections, more so when a second appeal is pending?

2. The reference order dated 3.10.2016 has been passed in Special Appeal (D) No. 589 of 2016 filed by three appellants, after seeking leave of this Court, against the order dated 13.7.2016 passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ - C No. 31246 of 2016. Special Appeal (D) No. 628 of 2016 has also been filed by two appellants challenging the very same order dated 13.7.2016, seeking leave of this Court under Chapter XXII Rule 5, Chapter IX Rule 10 and Chapter 10 Rules 1 and 7 of the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952. In Special Appeal (D) No. 589 of 2016, alongwith the Committee of Management, one Shiva Kant Mishra is also an appellant, who claims to be the Manager/Secretary, Committee of Management, Dadar Ashram Trust Society, Village Dadar, Post Charawa Barawa, Sikandarpur, District Ballia (for short, ‘the Trust’). In Special Appeal (D) No. 628 of 2016, apart from the Committee of Management of the Trust being the first appellant, one Dr. Phool Chand Singh is also an appellant, who claims to be the Manager of the Trust.

3. Both these appeals arise from the order dated 13.7.2016 passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ-C No. 31246 of 20161 that was filed by Dr. Chandrashekar Pandey, claiming to be the Manager of the Trust, challenging the legality of the order dated 1 July 2015 issued by the second respondent - Registrar, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeet, Varanasi (for short, ‘the University’), requiring the concerned authority to keep the election process in abeyance. The said order was passed in pursuance of the directions issued by the first respondent - Vice-Chancellor of the University. The petitioner had also prayed for a direction to the first and second respondents to hold elections of the Committee of Management of the Trust as per election programme dated 18.6.2015 on the basis of the voters’ list attached with the election programme for the year 2015-16. The learned Single Judge disposed of the writ petition vide order dated 13.7.2016 directing the holding of elections against which the appellants filed the instant two appeals after seeking leave of this Court.

4. For determination of the aforestated questions, it is unnecessary to state in detail the chequered history of the litigation, and a brief reference to the facts noticed in the referral order dated 3.10.2016, would suffice. The Trust is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (for short, ‘the Act, 1860’). It runs the Sri Bajrang Post Graduate College (for short, ‘the College’), affiliated to the University. It is not in dispute that elections to the Committee of Management for managing the affairs of the College were held prior to 1988 in accordance with the bye laws of the society. It is also not in dispute that in view of the dispute with respect to the rights claimed by different persons to be the lawful office bearers of its Management affecting the smooth and orderly administration of the College some time in 1988, the State Government, in exercise of its powers under Section 57 of the Uttar Pradesh Universities Act, 1973 (for short, ‘the Universities Act’) appointed the District Magistrate as the Authorized Controller to take over the management of the College and its properties and since then the Authorized Controller has been managing th