( 1 ) THE Maharashtra Brahman Sahakari Bank Ltd. , petitioner No. 1 in this petition, is a registered co-operative society and carries on banking business. Petitioner No. 2 is the President of the Society. The petitioner society was originally registered under the Indore Co-operative Societies Act and is deemed to be registered under the Ma-dhya Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. Bye-law No. 10 of the Society provides that only Maharashtrian Brahmins can be members of the Society. The Banking Regulation Act, 1949, has been extended to co-operative societies by the Banking Laws (Application to cooperative Societies) Act, 1965. Under the Banking Regulation Act the reserve Bank has powers of inspection. The Re-serve Bank after inspection advised the petitioner society to follow the principle of open membership by suitably amending the bye-laws. The Registrar, Co-operative Societies, issued a notice on 26th November 1969 under Section 12 (1) of the Co-operative societies Act, 1960, requiring the petitioner society to amend its bye-laws so as to make its membership open to all communities. In this letter it was pointed out that in May 1963 a Study Group of Non-Agricultural Co-operative Societies recommended that membership of urban banks should be open to all persons competent to contract and that in future urban banks should not be organised on communal basis and existing societies so organised should suitably amend their bye-laws to throw their membership open to all communities. It was also pointed out that the Reserve Bank had advised on inspection that the petitioner societyshould amend its bye-laws to make it an open society. The petitioner society did not accept the suggestion of the Registrar and declined to make the amendment. The Registrar then by notice dated 7th October 1971 asked the petitioner society to state its objections why its bye-laws be not suitably amended to enable persons of all communities to become its members. It was also mentioned in this notice that the amendment would be in the interest of the society. The petitioner society raised various objections which were not accepted by the Registrar who by his order dated 19th April 1973 registered the proposed amendment to the bye-laws in exercise of his power under Section 12 (2) of the Act so as to make the membership of the petitioner society open to all communities. It is this order of the Registrar which is challenged in this petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

( 2 ) SECTION 12 of the Madhya Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, reads as follows:

"s. 12. Power to direct amendment of bye-laws- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or the rules or bye-laws, if the Registrar considers that an amendment of the bye-laws of a society is necessary or desirable in the interest of such society, he may, by an order in writing to be served on the society in the prescribed manner, require the society to make the amendment within such time as may be specified in such order,

(2) If the society fails to make any such amendment within the time specified by the Registrar in his order under Subsection (1), the Registrar may, after giving the society an opportunity to state its objections, if any, register such amendment and issue a certified copy thereof to such society and thereupon such amendment shall be binding on the society and its members. "

( 3 ) A reading of Section 12 will show that the Registrar can direct the society to make an amendment of its bye-laws which the Registrar considers to be necessary or desirable in the interest of the society and that when the society fails to make the necessary amendment, the Registrar can register such amendment after hearing the society's objections and on such registration the amendment binds the society and its members. One of the important principles of co-operation is an open door policy. This principle means that a co-operative society always welcomes newcomers, if t