PSEB Vs. SATISH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -The only question which requires consideration in these Revision Petitions is whether the Registrar of the Co-operative Societies and the Special Officer, appointed under Section 88 of the Co-operative Societies Act, after supersession of Management Board of the Society, Tiruchirapalli Consumer Co-operative Wholesale Ltd., Trichy, would be jointly and severally liable for non-refund of deposits by the Society?

(2.) In our view, the Registrar of the Cooperative Societies and the Special Officer are discharging their duties under statutory provisions unconnected with any contract of accepting deposit from the complainants by the Cooperative Society. They cannot be held personally liable for non-refund of deposits by the Cooperative Society on the ground that the society was suffering from financial crunch or for various other reasons including mal-administration of the society. The Registrar of the Cooperative Societies under the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act is not providing any service or facility as contemplated under the Consumer Protection Act, but is exercising statutory, administrative, supervisory control and is discharging quasi-judicial functions as provided in the said Act. Facts:

(3.) The Tiruchirapalli Consumer Cooperative Wholesale Stores Ltd. (for short, the TCCWS) failed to refund the deposited amount with interest accrued thereon to the investors/depositors. It is pointed out that the TCCWS had been constituted for the purposes, such as, to purchase articles in bulk of domestic consumption and sell them in wholesale and retail; to purchase or hire processing plants for the purpose of processing and/or manufacturing goods into a state fit for consumption or use; to construct, purchase or hire godowns or yards for purpose of storage, processing or manufacturing goods; to purchase or hire lorries for transport of goods; to act as the agent of the Government and/or co-operative societies to procure and stock foodgrains and other commodities, to sell the goods purchased, processed or manufactured by it to its affiliated primary stores at wholesale rates; to undertake retail distribution of goods, purchased, processed or manufactured by it, to open branches or supper markets for retail distribution at suitable places within its area of operations for the purpose mentioned in clause 7, to make distribution of consumer goods between purchasers and/or manufacturers as directed as can be efficiently done and to undertake such other activities as are deemed essential for the attainment of any or all of the above objectives.