WP(C) 1151/2008 BEFORE HON’BLE MR JUSTICE B D AGARWAL A group of share holders of Baruajhar Samabay Samity Ltd. has fi led this writ petition challenging the order dated 29.10.2007 and 27.2.2008, whe reby the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Assam (respondent No. 2) has reviv ed the Managing Committee of the Society which was earlier dissolved by the same authority on 21.05.2007. 2. I have heard Sri M U Mahmud, learned counsel for the petitioner. The State respondents were represented by Smt V L Singh, learned Additional Sen ior Government Advocate, whereas the President of the Society was represented by Sri A K Goswami, learned senior counsel. I have also gone through the pleadings and documents filed by both the parties. 3. The Managing Committee was allegedly constituted on 31.7.2006 an d the Annual General Meeting for the next year was held on 12.6.2007. However, t he proceedings of the Annual General Meeting held on 12.6.2007 was not approved by the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies. Hence, the Managing Commit tee was dissolved by the respondent No. 2 vide order dated 21.5.2007. On such di ssolution of the Managing Committee, the Registrar of Co-operative Societies app ointed the Inspector of Co-operative Societies as one man adhoc Committee on 21. 6.2007. The said order was challenged before this Court vide WP(C) No. 2965/2007 . However, this Court did not interfere with the order and consequently, the Man aging Committee stood dissolved. Thereafter, a group of shareholders again appro ached the respondent No. 2 pleading that the Annual General Meeting could not be held within the statutory period due to lapses on the part of Secretary of the Society and accepting this plea the Registrar has restored the Managing Committe e vide 29.10.2007. 4. Admittedly, a Managing Committee can continue only for a period of 3 (three) years. According to Sri Goswami, learned senior counsel for the res pondent No. 8, the said period should be counted from the date of the Annual Gen eral Meeting, electing the Managing Committee, whereas, according to Sri Mahmud, learned counsel for the writ petitioners, the period of the Managing Committee should be counted from the first of April of each year. In support of this submi ssion, Sri Mahmud placed a letter issued by the respondent No. 2 to all the Regi strars of Co-operative Societies on 29.6.1998 clarifying that irrespective of th e date of the Annual General Meeting the period of the Managing Committee should be counted from the year in which, the Managing body is elected. 5. It is true that the Assam Co-operative Societies Act, 1949 (here inafter, ’the Act’ in short) has defined ’Co-operative Year’ under Section 2 (f) and the date of the co-operative year has been left to the discretion of the Re gistrar. It would have been advisable for the respondent No. 2 to fix the date o f ’Co-operative Year’. However, from various documents produced during the heari ng of the writ petition, it appears to me that ordinarily the co-operative year begins from the first week of April of each year. In this view of the matter, th e term of the Managing Committee has already expired. 6. Even otherwise, while reviving the Managing Committee the Regist rar did not issue any public notice inviting objections from the members of the Society nor the Registrar has assigned good reasons to revive the dissolved Soci ety. The respondent No. 2 has not at all addressed to the issue regarding non-ho lding of the Annual General Meeting within the statutory period, the ground on w hich, the Managing Committee was dissolved by the same authority on 21.05.2007. Section 32 of the Act mandates that the Annual General Meeting should be held at least once in every co-operative year and the period can only be extended for 6 0 days under Sub Section (4) of Section 32 of the Act. In the present case, the Annual General Meeting has not been held since last 2 (two) years and on this gr ound alone the impugned order is not sustainable in law. Accordingly, the impugn ed order is hereby set aside. 7. In the result, the writ petition stands allowed. The Registrar o f the Co-operative Societies, Assam is directed to take necessary steps so that the Annual General Meeting of the Society is held for the purpose of constitutin g the Managing Committee within a period of 45 (forty-five) days from the date o f receipt of a copy of this Judgment. I am restricting the period for holding th e meeting to 45 (forty-five) days keeping in mind that the Inspector was appoint ed as adhoc Committee for this purpose and as such, the said Committee must have done preliminary preparations for the meeting. It is also made clear that the r espondent No. 2 shall direct the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies t o monitor the election. 8. With the aforesaid directions, this writ petition stands dispose d of.