JOY NEERALAKOTTIL Vs. JOINT REGISTRAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has been disqualified from being a member of the Committee of the third respondent Kaduthuruthy Cooperative Rubber Marketing and Processing Society Ltd., which is a Cooperative Society registered under the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969 (the Act, for short). He has been disqualified under R.44(1)(d) of the Rules framed under the Act, which runs as under:-

(2.) The Society was on the look-out for a suitable place to install a crumb rubber factory. They advertised in the dailies, but the lands offered were not suitable. The managing committee, on its enquiry located four sites as suitable for the purpose. One of these sites under consideration belonged to the petitioner, who was a member of the managing committee of the Society. A sub-committee was constituted to consider the suitability of the four sites, and it recommended purchase of the petitioner's site having an extent of 2.35 acres for a price of rupees five lakhs, at the rate of Rs. 2,135/ -percent. A copy of the report is Ext. P1. This was communicated to the petitioner by the President of the Society by his letter Ext. P2 dated 10-4-1988. The petitioner was requested to give consent before 12-4-1988 to assign the land to the society. The petitioner accordingly gave what is called a deed of consent, namely Ext. P3 on 12-4-1988. He agreed thereby to assign to the society 2.35 acres of land for a total consideration of rupees five lakhs. He also agreed to have the property measured to the satisfaction of the society and to reduce the price, if the extent was less. The society was itself to arrange for getting legal opinion, valuation as also necessary permission from the department.

(3.) It would appear that the petitioner had apprehended disqualification from membership of the committee by virtue of the proposed sale. Ext. P2 the letter from the President, had sought to allay this apprehension of the petitioner by intimating that the petitioner need enter into any agreement for sale or execute the deed of sale only after the requisite sanction was obtained from the department. His consent for the sale was required to enable the society to go through the preliminaries like getting legal opinion, and valuation and for securing departmental sanction, besides exemption under S.101 of the Act. It was in these circumstances that the petitioner was requested to give his consent before 12-4-1988.