CHENGALAM SERVICE CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD Vs. RAJKUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This case appears to be a classic example of the 'fence eating the crop'. Now the question is, should this Court invoke its discretionary extra-ordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution to grant relief to such a person, who is supposed to have drained the appellantChengalam Service Co-operative Bank (the Bank) of its resources by availing loans one after the other, to be specific 16 loans, in his own name and in the name of the members of his family, relatives and close aides and thereafter defaulted payment resulting in a liability of about two and odd crores of rupee, due to the appellant-Bank. This act of one individual, submits the learned senior counsel for the Bank, has landed the Bank in a precarious financial situation, on the brink of financial bankruptcy, due to which the Bank is unable to even return the deposits of its customers due to paucity of funds. The protagonist of this story, responsible for the sorry state of affairs of the Bank is stated to be Jose Antony, the former President of the Bank, who was at the helm of affairs of the Bank for 15 long years. Do we need to invoke our extra ordinary discretionary jurisdiction under Article 226 in such circumstances is the question that begs an answer in this series of appeals.

(2.) These appeals are against the judgments dtd. 17/3/2022 in Writ Petitions (C) Nos.7753/2022, 7876/2022 and 7854/2022 respectively. Jose Antony and his daughters, Anju Jose and Anit Jose are the petitioners in Writ Petition (C)No.7876/2022. His wife Moly Jose is the sole petitioner in Writ Petition (C)No.7854/2022. Moly Jose is the 3rd petitioner in Writ Petition (C)No.7753/2022, apart from the 1st and 2nd petitioners, who are stated to be the loyal close aides of Jose Antony. The Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies (General), Collectorate P.O., Kottayam; Special Sale Officer, Akalakkunnam Village SCB Group, Assistant Registrar Office (G), Collectorate P.O., Kottayam and Chengalam Service C-operative Bank Ltd. are the respondents in the writ petitions. The 3rd respondent in the writ petitions, namely, the Chengalam Service C-operative Bank (the Bank) is the appellant in all the 3 appeals. The parties in the appeals will be referred to as described in the writ petitions.

(3.) W.A. No.408 of 2022