BINDESH KUMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE three writ petitions arising out of a common proceeding under the Bihar Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 ('the Public Demands Act' in short) have been heard together and are disposed of by this common order.

(2.) THE petitioners have challenged the maintainability of the impugned proceeding which has been levied for recovery of sum of Rs. 1,17,17,903 said to be due to Shri Ram Nagari Sahkari Grih Nirman Samiti Ltd. ('the Society' in short). They also seek quashing of the order passed in the said proceeding directing recovery of the dues from their assets by auction sale. The petitioner in C.W.J.C. No. 9328 of 1993 Bindesh Kumar Singh is an Advocate by profession. He, however, figures as certificate debtor not as an advocate or legal Advisor to the Society, as claimed by him, rather as the person who executed the sale deeds in favour of the members on behalf of the Secretary of the Society, received the consideration money but allegedly misappropriated the same. The petitioner in C.W.J.C. No. 9445 of 1993 Ramesh Bhagat was an employee of the society while the petitioner in C.W. J.C. No. 10569 of 1993 Bharat Tripathy was its member Secretary. They have been arrayed as certificate debtors for having misappropriated more than one crore of rupees of consideration money which they had received from the members of the Society for sale of plots of land to them. A number of point have been raised in support of the writ petitions. I shall first take up the point which is common to all the three cases.

(3.) AS the dispute involves interpretion of Section 52 of the Co operative Act it would be proper to quote its provisions in extenso at the very out set.