ZEESHAN MEHDI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has impugned the orders dated 19th December, 2019 and 23rd September, 2020 passed by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Government of India. All the respondents are served. None appeared for the respondent nos. 4 and 5 though served when the matter was called out.

(2.) Sometime in the year 2012, the petitioner was elected as a director of the respondent no.3 bank. The chairman of the respondent no.3 had issued a show cause notice on 12th January, 2013 alleging that the petitioner was a defaulter and accordingly he would be dismissed under bye-law 51 from the respondent no.3 bank. The petitioner was thereafter removed as a director on the ground that as per the RBIs inspection report dated 24th December, 2012, he was a defaulter. Such action on the part of the chairman of the respondent no.3 was challenged by filing arbitration proceedings by the petitioner on 4th August, 2013 under section 84 of the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 (for short the said MSCS Act).

(3.) The learned arbitrator made an award on 4th August, 2013 declaring that the petitioner was not a defaulter and was pleased to set aside the order of dismissal of the petitioner. The said award made by the learned arbitrator was not challenged by the bank and attained finality. The petitioner was thereafter elected as a chairman on 16th May, 2016. It appears that on 5th June, 2017, the Reserve Bank of India addressed a letter to the respondent no.2 stating that the complaint had been received against the petitioner pursuant to which the Reserve Bank of India had carried out an enquiry which allegedly indicates that the accounts of the petitioner had been repaid out of fresh sanctions to two other accounts/parties. The Reserve Bank of India accordingly requested the Central Registrar to review the election of the petitioner as a director and chairman of the respondent no.3 bank.