NARAYANA MENON AND OTHERS Vs. THRIKULASEKHARAPURAM SREE KRISHNA VILASOM NAYAR SAMAJOM, CRANGANORE AND OTHERS MUKAMBI AMMA AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two civil revision petitions relate to connected matters pertaining to the winding up of Thrikulasekarapuram Sree Krishna Vilasom Nair Samajom of Methala, a society registered under the Cochin Registration of Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 11 of 1088. By a resolution passed by its general body the society went into voluntary liquidation, and while its affairs were being wound up by a special committee appointed for that purpose, dispute arose between the members of the society and so a reference was made to the District Court of Anjikaimal under section 14 of Act II of 1088. The reference was made in M. P. No. 1 of 1954, and the prayer in that M. P. was that the winding up should be affected by the Court and that the Court should realize all the assets due to the society and pay its creditors and settle all its affairs. During the pendency of this petition the members of the special committee appointed for the winding up also filed another petition in Court, M. P. No. 1648 of 7954, praying that a liquidator might be appointed for attending to the winding up work and that all the assets of the society might be realized and its debts discharged. In pursuance of these petitions the Court appointed Mr. C.V. Narayana Iyer, Retired District Judge as liquidator of the society and on his appointment he applied for staying to execution of certain decrees obtained by the Society's creditors against the society for directing the members of the Special committee to pay him a sum of Rs. 9000 realized by them from the Society's debtors, etc. These applications of Mr. Narayana Iyer were opposed by the judgment creditors as well as the members of the special committee. There objections were two fold, namely (i) that as the amount had already been attached by some of the judgment creditors of the society it was not available for payment to the liquidator and (ii) that the Court had no jurisdiction to appoint the liquidator and direct the members of the special committee to make the payment to him. Both these objections were overruled by the lower court and an application for review of the lower court's order was also dismissed by that court. Thereupon these two civil revision petitions have been filed, C. R. P. No. 293 of 1955 by the members of the Special committee, arid C. R. P. No. 294 of 1955 by some of the judgment creditors reiterating the same objections and contending that the lower court's order is wrong. So far as C. R. P. 293 of 1955 is concerned, it has to be pointed out that the present contentions come with ill grace from the revision petitioners for they themselves had prayed in M. P. No. 1648 of 1954 for the appointment of a liquidator by the Court for the society and for directions of the Court to hand over to him the amounts realized by the special committee and for the collection of the balance assets by the liquidator and discharge of the society's debts. Probably they expected that one of them would be appointed as liquidator by the lower court and made the application; and when their hopes in that directions were frustrated and an independent person was appointed as liquidator they conveniently forgot the prayers they themselves had made in M. P. No. 1648 of 1954 and advanced the contention that the Court had no jurisdiction to appoint the liquidator and made the direction to the special committee to hand over to him the amount collected by them.

(2.) SECTION 14 of the Act II of 1088 reads as follows: -