JUDGMENT - N.P. CHAPALGAONKER, J.:---Heard Shri Hon, the learned Counsel for the petitioners; Shri Phatke, the learned Assistant Government Pleader, for respondents Nos. 1 to 3 and 20; Shri Shinde, learned Counsel for respondent Nos. 4 and Shri Dixit, learned Counsel for respondents Nos. 5 to 19. 2.Respondents Nos. 5 to 10 - co-operative societies have been included in the voters list prepared by the Collector for the election of Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Ahmednagar. They are included in the category of Co-operative Societies doing business of processing or marketing of agricultural produce in the market area, as contemplated by section 13(1)(c) of the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as "the said Act"). The entitlement of respondents Nos. 5 to 19 in this category has been challenged before us in this writ petition. 3.Admittedly, all these societies are holding a traders' licence which is issued by the Market Committee on 31-3-1998, a date which is a qualifying date for the purposes of voters' list for the election in question. 4.Section 7 of the said Act empowers a Market Committee to grant licences, after making such inquiries as it deems fit, for the use of any place in the market area for marketing of the agricultural produce or for operating therein as a trader, commission agent, broker, processor, weighman, measurer, surveyor, warehouseman or in any other capacity in relation to the marketing of agricultural produce. Section 13 of the said Act, which speaks about the constitution of the market committee provides that, among others, (1) there shall be ten representatives of the agriculturists residing in the market area, seven of whom shall be elected by members of the managing committees of the agricultural credit societies, and multipurpose co-operative societies functioning in the market area; and three shall be elected by members of village panchayats functioning in such market area. Out of these three, one shall be a person belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes (this is as per clause (a); (2) two representatives shall be elected by the traders and commission agents, holding licences to operate as such in the market area (clause (b); (3) one representative shall be elected by hamals and weighmen operating in the market area (clause b-1); and (4) one representative shall be the Chairman of the co-operative society doing business of processing or marketing of agricultural produce in the market area; or in his absence a representative of the co-operative society elected by its managing committee (as per clause (c). It, therefore, follows that the traders and the commission agents have been given representation by a separate constituency and the co-operative societies doing business of marketing or processing of agricultural produce in the market area have been given a separate representation through one of their Chairmen, or, in his absence, a member elected by the managing committees of such societies. 5.Respondents Nos. 5 to 19 are holders of trades licences, which are issued to them just on 31-3-1998. Admittedly, they had no transactions either this date or any time before that. 6.Representation provided under section 13(1)(c) of the said Act to the co-operative societies doing business of marketing and processing of agricultural produce in the market area stands on a different footing, as compared to the representation provided to the traders and commission agents. The traders and commission agents are entitled to elect a representative if they hold a licence to operate in the concerned market area; whereas the Legislature has specifically deviated from using the same phraseology while describing the representation in Clause (c). The representation is to the co-operative societies which are doing business of processing or marketing of agricultural produce in the market area (emphasis ours). It means that on the qualifying date, such societies must be doing the business. So, mere registration of a society under this clause will not, by itself, be sufficient to give it a right to elect a representative. The right flows from satisfaction of both the conditions; namely, (i) it should be a marketing or processing society; and (ii) it should be doing the business of such processing or marketing of agricultural produce in the market area. The right flows from satisfaction of both the conditions; namely, (i) it should be a marketing or processing society; and (ii) it should be doing the business of such processing or marketing of agricultural produce in the market area. Unless both these conditions are satisfied, a society is not entitled to be registered as voter in the constituency contemplated under section 13(1)(c) of the said Act. 7.A report of the Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Ahmednagar, which was sought for by the Collector in respect of the objections to the inclusion of respondents Nos. 5 to 19, which is filed on record, goes to show that because of their financial difficulties and natural calamities, they could not do business from the date of their licence; but the licence is valid till 30th September 1999, and, therefore, they propose to do the business hereafter. This is a clear proof of the fact that these respondents societies are not doing any business of processing or marketing of agricultural produce in the market area. 8.It was contended before us that these societies have purchased some agricultural produce for distribution amongst their members. This, by itself, would not be a marketing of agricultural produce or processing of it. Secondly, everything is done by them after the qualifying date. 9.The question as to what meaning should be given to the words "doing business" occurring in section 13(1)(c) of the said Act is no more res integra. A Division Bench of this Court in the case of (Devendra Kashirao Deshmukh v. Sub-Divisional Officer, Katol and others)1, 1995(1) Mh.L.J. 716 , after referring to a decision of another Division Bench of this Court in the case of (Radhakisan v. Assistant Collector)2, 1983 Mh.L.J. 126, has held that what is emphasised in Clause (c) of section 13(1) of the said Act is the fact of a society actually doing the business of marketing or processing in the market area and not mere registration of the society under the said Act. 10.Admittedly, none of these societies have been classified by any order as an agricultural processing society or agricultural marketing society under Rule 10 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961; and in the absence of any such classifying order by the Registrar, coupled with the absence of any evidence to show that these societies are doing any business of marketing or processing of the agricultural produce in the market area on the qualifying date, we do not think that their inclusion was justified. 11.We, therefore, allow this writ petition and direct the Collector, Ahmednagar, to exclude the names of respondents Nos. 5 to 19 from the list of voters for the category defined in section 13(1)(c) of the Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1963, viz., co-operative societies doing the business of processing or marketing of agricultural produce in the market area of the Market Committee, Ahmednagar; and direct further that these respondents be included as voters in the category defined in section 13(1)(b) of the said Act for the traders and commission agents constituency. Rule made absolute accordingly. There shall, however, be no order as to costs. The Assistant Government Pleader to inform this order to the concerned respondents forthwith. An ordinary copy hereof be supplied to him, if applied for. Petition allowed.