The Assistant Registrar's actions in nominating a committee were justified under the U.P. Co-operative Societies Act when the society failed to conduct elections.

1. The petitioner is the President of the Nanawta Co - operative Society. Dist. Saharanpur from the year 1969. Since then he and the Committee of Management of the said Society are functioning in office and no fresh elections have been held after the expiry of this period to the Committee of Management of the Society. A notice under S.29 (4) of the U. P. Co - operative Socities Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) was given by the Assistant Registrar. Co - operative Societies on 31st December, 1974, to hold elections within three months from the date of communication of the order. It appears, that the Society still failed to hold the elections with the result that on 6th May, 1975, the Assistant Registrar nominated a Committee of Management under S.29 (5) of the Act. A representation was sent against the orderD/- 6th May. 1975 Annexure '1' on 13th May, 1975. A report was called for by the Deputy Registrar which was submitted by the Additional District Co - operative Officer on 14th May 1975 vide Annexure 'II'. Thereafter the present writ petition was filed on 19th May 1975. This petition was admitted on 23rd May, 1975, and a direction was issued by this Court that the representation should be decided before 7th July, 1975. On 5th July, 1975, the representation was decided by the Assistant Registrar against the petitioner. Thereafter an amendment application was moved in the writ petition which included the prayer for challenging the order of the Assistant Registrar dated 5th July, 1975.

2. The main submission made by petitioner's counsel is that the Assistant Registrar had no jurisdiction to take action under S.29 (5) of the Act, because the society had not failed to elect the members for the Committee of Management after the expiry of their term. In the alternative it is urged that even if he had the power to nominate a new Committee of Management under S.29 (5) of the Act, the same had been exercised, arbitrarily and unreasonably.

3. For the purposes of the above omissions learned counsel for the petitioner has brought to my notice certain decisions which I shall refer to hereafter. R.445 of the Rules, framed under Co - op. Societies Act the term of office of the elected members of the Committee off Management has been limited to three co - operative years including the co - operative year of the election. Under S.2 (i) of the said Act 'a co - operative year' commences on the first day of July and ends on 30th day of June of the following year. In paragraph 1 of the writ petition, the petitioner claims to be the President of the Nanawta Co - operative Society from the year 1969. It is to be noticed that details have not been furnished by the petitioner to show as to when the Committee of Management of the said Society was elected. But from the facts narrated above, it would be reasonable to infer that the Committee of management was elected sometime in the year 1969. If, however, the election took place prior to 1st July, 1969, then the three co - operative years of the Committee of Management would end on 30th June, 1971. If, on the other hand, the election took place after the 1st July, 1969, then three co - operative years would end on 30th June, 1972. Accepting the position most favourable to the petitioner, let us assume that the term of the Committee of Management of the Society expired on 30th June, 1972. Under R.90 of the aforesaid Rules the Annual General Meeting for holding the election of the members of the Committee of Management should be held by 31st of December i. e. in the instant case such a