A. YASODARAN Vs. ANANTHAPURAM CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, who retired from the service of the Railway Police, as a Sub Inspector of Police was before this Court contending that he stood as a guarantor for a loan availed of, by the 2 respondent who was continuing in service and the first respondent is now attempting to deduct the amounts due in the loan from the retirement benefits of the petitioner. The amounts sought to be deducted from the retirement benefits of the petitioner, being amounts originally borrowed by the 2nd respondent, it was his contention that, recovery steps should be initiated against the 2nd respondent and only then, against the surety. That proposition would go against the established principle of joint and several liability, which the petitioner had willingly undertaken, when he executed an agreement guaranteeing the repayment of the loans availed of by the 2 respondent.

(2.) BE that as it may, an interim order was granted at the time of admission on 10.01.2014, since equity demanded that the original borrower has the primary responsibility to clear the debt, she availed. Later, when the order came up for extension, it was pointed out by the learned Government Pleader that in fact, the 2nd respondent is the wife of the petitioner. In such circumstance, the writ petition was posted today, on the request of the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has today, filed a not -pressed memo contending that the entire amounts due to the 1st respondent has been settled. It is also submitted across the Bar that the counsel was also not informed about the relationship between the petitioner and the 2nd respondent.

(3.) IN the above circumstance, the 3rd respondent is directed to recover an amount of Rs.5,000/ -(Rupees five thousand only) from the petitioner's retirement benefits and deposit the same to the Kerala Mediation Centre, being the Nodal Centre for Alternate Dispute Resolution in the State.