The main legal point established in the judgment is that a notice of no confidence motion must be signed by the requisite number of members as required by Section 14 of the Madhya Pradesh Krishi Upaj Mandi Adhiniyam, 1972, and any action initiated on a notice not meeting this requirement must be set aside.

K.K. Trivedi, J.

This writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India takes exception to the action of respondents of initiating motion of no confidence against the petitioner, President of Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Banapura, Tehsil Seoni Malwa, District Hoshangabad. It is contended in the writ petition that the petitioner was elected as President of Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Banapura on 7.1.2013. The constitution of Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti is by 17 members. On 21.7.2015, eight members have moved notice of no confidence against the petitioner and have approached the respondent No. 4 for fixing the date for meeting to consider the said no confidence motion.

2. It is the specific plea raised in the writ petition that no confidence motion is short of the required number of members to initiate such proceedings against the petitioner in terms of Section 14 of the Madhya Pradesh Krishi Upaj Mandi Adhiniyam, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') and, therefore, no such date of hearing was to be fixed. The petitioner moved a representation challenging such an aspect, but, since the same is not being considered, the present writ petition is required to be filed.

3. This court, while entertaining the writ petition, has granted an interim stay vide order dated 6.8.2015. As a result, no proceedings of no confidence motion have taken place against the petitioner. Upon service of notice of the writ petition, the respondents have filed their return contending inter-alia that no confidence motion was rightly moved against the petitioner in terms of the amended provisions of Section 14 of the Act and since the constitution of Market Committee is as prescribed by amended provisions of Section 11, and such number of members were included in the said Committee. Since half of the number of members presently constituting the Committee have moved no confidence motion against the petitioner, the same is legal and valid. The same cannot be said to be violative of any provision of law and as such the stand taken by the petitioner is not acceptable. The writ petition is thus liable to be dismissed.

4. One Rameshwar Patel and Mahesh Goyal said to be the Member and Vice-president of the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti have filed the applications for intervention in the present writ petition to oppose the same and have also prayed for vacating interim stay.

5. Upon hearing learned counsel for the parties to some extent this Court vide order dated 20th August, 2015 has directed the Collector, Hoshangabad to file his affidavit to show the actual number of members constituting the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Banapura. Such an affidavit is filed. The petitioner has filed a rejoinder bringing on record certain facts. No additional return whatsoever has been filed by the respondents. However, they have made submission on the basis of documents available on record.

6. Heard learned counsel for the parties at length and perused the record.

7. The crux of the challenge to the action of bringing a no confidence motion against the petitioner is that sufficient number of members have not signed the said notice of no confidence motion and, therefore, it is not moved in accordance to law. To understand as to what would be the actual number of members to validly move a no confidence motion against the petitioner, it is required to examine the nature and strength of constitution of Marketing Committee, Section 11 of the Act prescribes that a Market Committee shall consist of a Chairman elected under Section 12 of the Act, ten representatives of agriculturists possessing such qualification as may be prescribed chosen by direct election from the constituencies of a market area in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder, one representative of traders possessing such qualifications as may be prescribed, elected by and from amongst the persons holding license from the Market Committee for a period of two successive years as traders or