SAYAJIRAO NARAYAN TAKWANE Vs. DIVISIONAL JOINT REGISTRAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Chapter VIII of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (the Act) contains elaborate provisions for audit, inquiry, inspection and supervision of accounts of cooperative societies. Ss. 81 of the Act provides for conduct of audit, test audit, re-audit, etc and also for submission of specific report for lodging of FIR and special report for conduct of inquiry into working and financial conditions of the society. Various types of reports submitted by the auditor are then subjected to elaborate process by the Registrar and such actions of the Registrar ultimately govern the rights and liabilities of the affected parties. Issues have repeatedly cropped up before this Court about the nature of orders passed by the Registrar directing conduct of test audit or re-audit as well as about mere findings in audit report assuming characteristics of a 'decision' or not. The law on the subject has sufficiently evolved.

(2.) While the short issue arising for consideration in the present case about maintainability of revision under Sec. 154 of the Act against mere findings in the report of re-audit is squarely covered by various judgments of this Court and these Petitions could ordinarily have been decided in the light of ratio of those judgments, reliance by one of the rival parties on a judgment of this Court in support of his contention that revision would be maintainable even against re-audit report has necessitated detailed discussion in this judgment for reconciliation of the views expressed in that judgment and for achieving better clarity on the issue at hand.

(3.) The issue arises on account of challenge set up by Pargaon Vividh Karyakari Seva Sanshta Ltd. (Society), who is the Petitioner in Writ Petition No. 12451 of 2024 challenging the order dtd. 2/8/2024 passed by the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Pune Division, Pune partly allowing the Revision Application No. 418 of 2023 and setting aside the re-audit report dtd. 15/9/2023, further directing conduct of fresh re-audit into the accounts of the Society. It is the contention of the Society that Revision is not maintainable against the mere opinion expressed by the Auditor after conducting re-audit under the provisions of sub-sec. (6) of Sec. 81 of the Act and that therefore the impugned order of the Divisional Joint Registrar dtd. 2/8/2024 is without jurisdiction and hence a nullity.