The Registrar's examination under Section 4-B of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 is limited to inclusion and deletion of members, and membership claims require examination in a civil suit.

JUDGMENT :

This intra Court Appeal under the Rules of the Court has been filed questioning the order of the learned Single Judge dated 20.01.2022 passed in Writ-C No.771 of 2022 (Gajraj Singh vs. State of U.P. and 2 others) whereby the second prayer pressed i.e. to issue Mandamus to the second respondent to consider and decide the objections of the appellant/writ petitioner dated 16.11.2021 and 30.11.2021 before finalizing the list of members of the General Body of the Society in question and holding the elections u/s 25(2) of the Societies Registration Act, 1860, has been declined leaving it open for the appellant/writ petitioner to ventilate his grievances at the appropriate stage before the appropriate forum.

2. The record reveals that the registration of the society in question had been renewed till 10.10.2013. The Sub Registrar, respondent No.2, while considering the rival claims for renewal of the registration of the Society came to the conclusion that no elections of the Committee of Management of the Society had been conducted and there were no valid members of the General Body of the Society amongst whom the elections could be held. The Sub Registrar vide order dated 09.09.2021 required the alive members/office bearers who had signed the list of office bearers at the time of registration to undertake the task of enrolling new members by making publication in the daily news papers. Pursuant thereto, an advertisement is alleged to have been published in the News Daily "Dainik Jagran" New Delhi edition on 21.09.2021. The appellant/writ petitioner is stated to have applied for life membership of the Society. A total of 967 applications so received were found in order and the applicants were inducted as members and the list of such inducted members was forwarded to the office of the Sub Registrar, Meerut. The other applications including the application of the appellant/writ petitioner were found defective and accordingly rejected by the Committee of Management in its special meeting held on 31.10.2021. The rejection has been communicated to the appellant/writ petitioner vide communication dated 15.11.2021 of the respondent No.2 requiring him to take back the 1070 forms submitted.

3. In the aforesaid backdrop the appellant/writ petitioner is stated to have filed the objections dated 16.11.2021 and 30.11.2021 and prayed for decision on the same.

4. It is vehemently contended by the counsel for the appellant that the prayer for decision on the pending objections was liable to the considered but the learned Single Judge committed grave error in declining the said relief. The appellant/writ petitioner could not be termed a 'stranger' in the circumstances so as to refuse the relief prayed for. It is contended that the respondent No.2, Sub Registrar, was under obligation to decide the objections in exercise of the statutory power conferred upon him u/s 4-B of the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Since the objections were not being decided which the Sub-Registrar was duty bound to decide, a writ of Mandamus lay but the learned Single Judge has proceeded to hold otherwise. Reliance has been placed upon a decision of a coordinate Bench rendered in Writ Petition No. 58426 of 2017 (T.P. Singh vs. Registrar/Asst. Registrar, Firms Societies and Chits, Teliyarganj and others) decided on 10.10.2018 and reported in 2018 (11) ADJ 586.

5. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and have perused the record.

6. Much emphasis has been laid by learned counsel for the appellant/ writ petitioner upon Section 4-B of Societies Registration Act, 1860, as applicable to the State of U.P. (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), inserted by U.P. Act No.23 of 2013 which reads as under:-

"4-B (1) At the time of registration/renewal of a society, list of members of General Body of that society shall be filed with the Registrar mentioning the name, father's name, address and occupation of the members. The Registrar shall examine the correctness of the list