DHRANGADHRA T S K Vs. SANGH LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant had filed Special Civil Suit No. 16 of 1971 for recovering Rs. 1,89,630-93 from the respondents contending that the plaintiff Co-operative Society was producing salt and was selling it. The defendants had agreed to purchase the salt from the plaintiff on 7-4-1964 at the rate agreed between the parties. As there was breach of contract between the parties and also the defendants were not paying the remaining price of the goods, the plaintiff had filed the aforesaid suit for recovery of the amount as stated in the plaint.

(2.) In the plaint itself the plaintiff has averred that previously they were bona fide prosecuting proceeding before the Board of Nominees under the Gujarat Co-operative Societies Act, 1961. Before the Registrar they had filed Levadi Suit No. A. B. N. 194 of 1965 on 17-1-1965 for this very purpose. Finally the said proceedings were terminated by the judgment of the Gujarat High Court on 29th September 1970 wherein it was held that the dispute being between a Cooperative Society and a third party, the provision giving exclusive jurisdiction to the authority constituted under the Act is not applicable and the authority has no jurisdiction to deal with it. Subsequently therefore they have filed the aforesaid suit before the Court on 12th April 1971. The suit was dismissed by the learned Judge on a preliminary issue that it was barred by the period of limitation and he held that the provisions of S.14 of the Limitation Act would not be applicable in the present case as the Registrar's Nominee was not a Court and S.14 of the Limitation Act was applicable only to the proceedings before the Court. Against this judgment and decree the plaintiff has preferred the aforesaid appeal.

(3.) In our opinion, whether S.14 of the Limitation Act, 1963 would be applicable or not to the present proceedings is directly covered by the judgment of the Division Bench of this High Court in the case of M. G. Patel and Co. v. Alka Co-operative Housing Society Ltd., reported in 1981 Guj LH 311, wherein the Court in para 15 has held as under :