BANABIHARI TRIPATHY Vs. REGISTRAR OF CO OP SOCIETIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) When this writ application was placed before a Division Bench of this Court, it referred the matter to a larger Bench to consider the following two questions :- "(1) Whether the Co-operative Societies registered under a Co-operative Societies Act as such will come within the fold of Art.12 of the Constitution and are amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the High Court? (In case the answer is in the negative), (2) Whether the Co-operative Society is borne (born?) under any Statute or is discharging any such functions which may make it an 'instrumentality of the State' "? (Second question is recasted)

(2.) A few facts may also be noticed : The petitioner was appointed as a Clerk in the Khurda Central Co-operative Bank (for short 'Bank') in the year 1958 and in due course was promoted to the post of Accountant in the year 1966. While working as such in the Head Office at Khurda, he was suspended and reverted to the post of Branch Manager, thus imposing a 'major penalty' by the office order of the Bank dated 4-11-1966 (Annexure-2) pending the contemplated departmental enquiry, and in the departmental enquiry, his services were terminated by order dated 10-9-1980 (Annexure-24). The petitioner has accordingly filed the writ application for quashing the order of suspension as also the order of termination and for a direction to the Bank opposite party No. 2 to treat him in service all through.

(3.) When this application was placed for hearing a question was raised on behalf of the Bank that no writ lay against the Bank as ' it was not 'an authority' within the meaning of Art.12 of the Constitution. As already stated, this question is troubling the Courts since long. As there has been a continuous development of law and, if I may say so, there is really a 'plethora of decisions' on this subject, and I will refer only to some of them which are more important. Regarding the development of law on the, subject, I may quote the Supreme Court itself Mathew, J. in Sukhadev Singh v. Bhagatram Sardar Singli Raghuvanshi, AIR 1975 SC 1331 made the following observation : -