THE VEGETOLS LTD. BY ITS MANAGING AGENT, C.P. SARATHY MUDALIAR AND ANR. Vs. THE WHOLESALE CO-OPERATIVE STORES LTD. AND ANR.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal against the Judgment of Balakrishna Ayyar, J., in W.P. No. 818 of 1953 which was filed by the appellants under Article 226 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ of certiorari quashing the proceedings of the Additional Joint Registrar of Co -operative Societies, Madras, in R.P. No. 45 of 1953 on appeal from the order of the Deputy Registrar of Chittoor, dated 24th August, 1953. The 1st appellant is a limited liability company with its registered office at Chittoor. The 2nd appellant is its Managing Agent. The 1st respondent is a Co -operative Society formed under the Madras Co -operative Societies Act VI of 1932. The 1st respondent, entered into a contract with the 1st appellant, the terms of which were embodied in an agreement dated 7th July, 1952, under which the 1st appellant granted to the 1st respondent the Sole Selling Agency in respect of raw groundnut oil and cake in the district of Chittoor. The only terms of this agreement which are material for the purpose of this case are the following:

(2.) FROM the record, it appears that on the date of the execution of the agreement that is, on 7th July, 1952, the 1st appellant company was not a member of the 1st respondent society. But the 2nd appellant individually was a member. The 1st appellant was actually admitted as a member only on 4th October, 1952. The 1st appellant filed a written statement, in which it pleaded inter alia that the Deputy Registrar of Co -operative Societies had no jurisdiction under Section 51 of the Act to entertain the claim, because the 1st appellant as a limited liability company could not, under the by -laws of the society be admitted as a member of the society. On 16th June, 1953, the Deputy Registrar passed an order overruling this objection, and holding that he had jurisdiction to entertain the claim. A revision petition was filed against this order by the appellants to the Registrar. That petition was disposed of by the Additional Joint Registrar by his order, dated 24th August, 1953. Before him, in addition to the objection that the 1st appellant company could not be validly admitted as a member of the society, a further objection was raised, namely, that the 1st appellant was not in any event a member on the date of the agreement dated 7th July, 1952. The Joint Registrar rejected both these contentions of the appellants and dismissed the revision petition. It is to quash this order that the Writ Petition was filed by the appellants. Before the learned judge, both the points urged before the Joint Registrar were again urged, but the learned Judge rejected the contentions of the appellants and dismissed the petition.

(3.) THE second objection, however, cannot be lightly dismissed, and we do not think that it has received the consideration it merits from the learned Judge, Balakrishna Ayyar, J., held that against the 1st appellant mainly relying on the wide and comprehensive language used in Section 51 of the Co -operative Societies Act. That section, in so far as it is relevant, is as follows: