ABINASH CHANDRA CHAKRABORTY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In short, the facts of the case inter alia, are, that one Sri Ranendra Kr, Acharya, was a member, of the Manicktola Co-operative Housing Society, and he was allowed Flat No. K-82 in the housing complex of the said Society, upon full 'payment of hi contribution towards the cost of construction ,of the said flat, and get possession of the same. At first, Sri Acharya had made his mother Smt. Sushila Devi as his nominee in respect of his share and interest in the said Co-operative So&ty, but subsequently in 1974, he changed his nominee, and the writ petitioner was made his new nominee, which was approved by the Co-operative Society at its meeting dated 21st September, 1974, and the writ petitioner's name was recorded as the nominee of the said Sri Acharya in place of his mother. The said Sri Acharya died on September 14, 1975, and the writ petitioner made an application to the said Co-operative Society for admitting him as a member of the said Society, in place of the said deceased member, as his nominee, and the Society by its resolution dated January 10, 1976, admitted the writ petitioner as a member of the said Society. Subsequently, on or about January 24, 1976, when the writ petitioner went to take possession of the flat of the deceased member, in respect of which, he was made a nominee, as on the death of the said member, the said flat stood transferred in his favour as per the Co-operative Societies Act, 1973, he found one Smt. Suruchi Bala Bhattacharya, since deceased, and her family were in occupation of the said flat on the alleged claim that they were the heirs of the said Sri Ranendra Kumar Acharya. The writ petitioner then tied a dispute case before the Assistant 'Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Calcutta being case No. 39/Ca1/1975 - 76 claiming inter alia, that the Society must make over vacant possession of the disputed flat to the .writ petitioner being the nominee of the deceased member of the Society. As a counter-blast, Smt. Suruchi Bala Bhattacharya also filed another dispute case being No. 40/Cal/1975 - 76 before the same authority alleging inter alia, that the resolution of the Society dated 10th January, 1976 as referred to above, was illegal and void and further alleged that the nomination in favour of the writ petitioner was subsequently changed by the deceased member himself before his death. Prior to the aforesaid two disputed cases, the said Smt. Suruchi Bala Bhattacharya also filed another dispute case being No. 34/Cal/1975-76 before the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Calcutta challenging inter alia the transfer of the disputed flat in favour of the writ petitioner by the Society. The dispute case No. 39/Cal/1975 - 76 as filed by the writ petitioner, however, was ultimately dismissed, against which an appeal, being Appeal No. 76 of 1982 was preferred by the writ petitioner before the West Bengal Cooperative Tribunal, and the Tribunal by its judgment and order dated 26th April, 1983, allowed the said appeal in part and remanded the matter for re-hearing by the Assistant Registrar, holding inter alia, that the arbitrator was wrong in holding the preliminary point against the writ petitioner that he was not entitled to get possession of the disputed flat.

(2.) Against the said judgment and order passed by the Appellate Tribunal, the heirs of the said Smt. Suruchi Bala Bhattacharya, who had died in the meantime, namely, the respondent Nos. 4 to 11 in the present Civil Order, moved a writ application in the Hon'ble Court and obtained a Rule, being C. R. No. 9412(W) of 1983, in which an interim order was passed by The Hon'ble Mr. Justice G. N. Ray (as His Lordship then was), on 23rd September, 1983, while dealing with the application for extension of the interim order directed the respondent No. 3 herein to dispose of the aforesaid two other pending dispute case being Case Nos. 34/Cal and 40/Cal preferably within December, 1983 as, according to His Lordship, it was essentially necessary to decide first, as to whether or not a valid nomination under section 69 of the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 1973 had been made by the deceased member of the Society, Sri Ranendra Kumar Acharya, in favour of the writ petitioner. Subsequently, the said two dispute cases were disposed of by the respondent No. 3 by his judgment and. award dated November 5, 1984 holding inter alia, that the nomination in favour of the writ petitioner as made by the deceased member Sri Ranendra Kumar Acharya, was valid and binding, but the writ petitioner was not entitled to get possession of the disputed flat. Against the said judgment and award, the writ petitioner and the respondent Nos. 4 to 11 had filed four separate appeals being Appeal Nos. 54 of 1984, 1, 58 and 59 of 1985 before the West Bengal Co-operative Tribunal, and all the said appeals were analogously disposed of by the said Tribunal by a single judgment and order dated July 25, 1985 dismissing the appeal Nos. 58 and 59 of 1985, but allowing the appeal Nos. 54 of 1984'and 1 of 1985 holding inter alia, as follows :-

(3.) Against the said judgment and order of the tribunal, the writ petitioner has moved a writ application in this Hon'ble Court and obtained the present Civil Order.