NAGPUR GENERAL MERCHANTS CO OPERATIVE MARKET CUM HOUSING SOCIETY LIMITED GANDHIBAUGH NAGPUR Vs. KAMALKISHORE S O PREMLAL SAHU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, Nagpur General Merchants Co-operative Market-cum-Housing Society Ltd (hereinafter called the Society for the sake of brevity) has filed this petition challenging the order passed by the Judge, Co-operative Court as also the confirming judgment passed by the Maharashtra State Co-operative Appellate Court (Bombay), Nagpur Bench, Nagpur.

(2.) THIS litigation has a chequered history. The petitioner Society is a Housing Society and respondents 1 to 3 are the persons desirous of getting a status of members of that Society. These members filed a dispute bearing No. 173 of 1984 before the Co-operative Court praying for declaration that they were the members of the Society and as such had all the rights and liabilities of the members. They also prayed therein for a direction to the Society to enter their names into the partnership register and to issue them share certificates. Their case was that they were the dealers in medicines and having their shops in the General Market of the Society and they were duly qualified under the provisions of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (hereinafter called the Act for the sake of brevity), to hold the membership. One of the objects, according to them, of the Society was to provide market for the purpose of dealing in general goods including medicines in Nagpur and with that object, to acquire land and build shops and to distribute on instalment or on hire purchase or to let the same to its members. They claimed that they applied for the membership to the Secretary of the Society with necessary share amount and the entrance-fee, in the year 1975, but the Society did not give any reply to them and, therefore, they preferred an appeal under section 23 (2) of the Act before the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Nagpur, which appeal was allowed by order dated 2-6-1976, whereby the Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, directed the Society to admit the appellants therein as members of the Society within one month from the date of the order. This order, according to the disputants was confirmed in a revision preferred by the Society, by the Divisional Joint Registrar, and ultimately, the Society preferred a Special Civil Application No. 1492 of 1978 in this Court. However, that writ petition was also dismissed. This judgement, which decided the Special Civil Application on 19-8-1982, was challenged before the Supreme Court in Special Leave Appeal (Civil) No. 9997 of 1982. However, that Special Leave Appeal was also dismissed by the Supreme Court on 8-11-1982.

(3.) IT was also pointed out in the dispute that the respondent No. 4 had also filed such a similar appeal before the Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, under section 23 (2) of the Act which was allowed and the respondent No. 4 was directed to be admitted as member of the Society. The said order was also challenged by the Society in a revision before the Divisional Joint Registrar, who, by his order dated 26-4-1983, confirmed the order passed by the Deputy Registrar. A writ petition, bearing No. 1683/83 was filed by the Society before this Court. However, the said writ petition came to be withdrawn by the Society. It was contended that thereafter respondent Nos. 1 to 3 remitted Rs. 105/- each being the share money and entrance-fee. Thus, they were deemed to be the members, so also the respondent No. 4 who was admitted to the membership by the Society from 5-2-1983 as he had also remitted the said amount by cheque to the Society vide letter dated 15-3-1983. The disputants claimed that in spite of all this, their names were not entered in the Membership Register and they were not issued the share certificates and, thus, they were illegally deprived of the rights and liabilities as members of the Society, though they were entitled to the same. They claimed that they had sent number of letters to the Society but on some pretext or the other, the Society refused to discharge its legal obligations in this behalf, and they were also not given the notice of the annual general meeting which was to be held on 11-3-1984.