SHEOPAL SRIVASTAVA Vs. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE VARANASI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Nagariya Sahkari Bank Ltd., Varanasi (hereinafter referred to as the Bank) is a Primary Urban Co-operative Bank within the meaning of Section 2 of the U. P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1965 (for short, the Act), more specifically defined as Primary Urban Cooperative Bank under Rule (qq) of Rule 2 of the Rules framed under the Act (hereinafter referred to as the Rules). All the petitioners in this bunch of 26 writ petitions are aggrieved by the action of the Bank taken for realising amounts due against the petitioners through recovery certificates/Citations issued by the revenue authorities under the U. P. Public Money (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1972 and in one case the recovery certificate/citation issued by the Registrar Co-operative Societies in proceedings for realisation of loan amount which was initiated by the Bank. Since most of the questions raised in this bunch of cases are common, as prayed by the learned counsel for the parties, all the cases were bunched and heard together.

(2.) Sri C.K. Parekh, Sri M.P. Gupta. Sri Salil Kumar Rai. Sri Ramakrishna. Sri A.R. Dubey. Sri G.K. Singh, Sri S.S. Tripathi, Sri Saghir Ahmad, Sri Jai Prakash Singh, Sri P.K. Ganguly and Sri Bajrang Bahadur Singh, have been heard at great length for the respective petitioners. Sri A.K. Singh for the Bank and Sri Vishnu Pratap, learned standing counsel for the State of U. P. and its recovering officials have also been heard at great length. Both sides were permitted to file written arguments which have been filed by Sri Parekh, Sri Rai for the petitioners and by Sri Singh for the Bank.

(3.) In order to appreciate the points which have been advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioners and the replies submitted by the respondents' counsel, it should be absolutely necessary to bear in mind few Legislations which cover the controversies raised in these petitions. The Act has denied various Co-operative Societies including 'Primary Society' as denied in clause (q1) of Section 2 of the Act. Credit Society is defined in Section 2 (i-1) of the Act and clause (h) of the rules framed under the Act--both read as under : "Credit Society" means a society which has as its primary object the raising of funds to be lent to its members."