ASSAM CIVIL ACCOUNTS ASSOCIAT-ION CO-OPERATIVE MUTUAL BENE-FIT FUND LTD Vs. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT GENERAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. BK Deb Roy, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. R. Debnath, learned Central Govt. counsel appearing for the respondent, Principal Accountant General (Audit), Assam. Petitioner is "The Assam Civil Accounts Association Co-operative Mutual Benefit Fund Ltd. Shillong" ("petitioner society" for short) a registered co-operative society, which was established and registered in the year 1927. Petitioner society is represented in the present proceeding by its Chairman and Secretary. Petitioner society has adopted a set of bye-laws to regulate its various activities. As the name itself suggest, petitioner society comprises of shareholder members who are employees either in Group B or C of the office of the Accountant General. Office of the Accountant General has been defined under bye-law 1(g) to mean any or all of the offices of the Accountant General (Audit) Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, Shillong and Guwahati, Accountant General (A & E) Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, Shillong and Accountant General (A & E) Assam, Shillong and Guwahati.

(2.) The objective of the petitioner society as mentioned in bye-law 3 is to encourage thrift and co-operation amongst the shareholders, to encourage savings of shareholders by making monthly contributions, to create funds to be lent to the shareholders on easy terms etc. Provision of loans is dealt with from by-law 50 to bye-law 59. According to the petitioner society (paragraph 25 of the writ petition), a good number of its members had received loans beyond normal admissibility on mortgage of life insurance policies, the premium of which are paid by the petitioner society upon contributions received from the concerned members. Loans availed of by the members are recovered through the employer by making deduction from their salaries. Some of the members of the petitioner society were subsequently allocated to and permanently posted at Guwahati in the establishment of Principal Accountant General (Audit) Assam (respondent herein).

(3.) A title suit was filed by one Shri G. S. Swer and 7 others, all members of the petitioner society seeking a declaration from the Civil Court that employees posted outside Shillong cannot contest election to the Board of Management of the petitioner society and that they should also not be treated as members of the petitioner society. The said suit was registered as Title Suit No. 7 (H) of 1999. Though the petitioner society was made a defendant in the Suit, it decided not to contest the same. Ultimately, learned Munsiff, Shillong by the judgment and order dated 1.10.1999 decreed the suit declaring that members of the petitioner society who are permanently posted at Guwahati are not entitled to contest in the election to the Board of Management of the petitioner society and that shareholder members who are permanently posted at Guwahati had ceased to be members of the petitioner society by virtue of their permanent transfer and posting outside Shillong. This decision of the learned Munsiff was neither challenged by the petitioner society nor by anyone else before any higher forum and, therefore, it has attained finality.