ADHITHYA VARMA RAJA, T K Vs. IRINJALAKUDA CO-OPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK LTD , THRISSUR AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is the member of the first respondent Bank, apart from being its erstwhile President, has questioned the manner and method of bifurcation the first respondent Bank has been subjected to.

(2.) Briefly stated, a Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank, as has been defined under Section 2(oc) of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 ("the Act" for brevity), has to confine its area of operation to a particular Taluk. In this instance, the first respondent Bank is situated in Mukundapuram Taluk. Initially in 2008, when the said Taluk was divided and a new Taluk, Kodungallur, was created, the Bank was bifurcated. Once again in 2013, Mukundapuram Taluk was bifurcated; it resulted in the creation of Chalakudy Taluk. It has thus necessitated the division of the first respondent Bank, again.

(3.) As a consequence to the bifurcation of the respondent Bank, the Managing Committee prepared Exhibit P1 Draft Scheme for apportioning the assets and liabilities of the Bank. Later, it placed the Scheme before the General Body, which is said to have approved it despite the objection of the petitioner, a participant. Eventually, the Draft Scheme thus approved by the General Body was placed before the Joint Registrar, who is said to have given his imprimatur to the Scheme. As a matter of further development, the Scheme was approved and placed before the General Body of the newly created Taluk, i.e., Chalakudy Taluk. At that juncture, the petitioner has approached this Court.