HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.1115 of 2000 ORDER: The relief sought for in this writ petition is to declare the show cause notice dated 26.10.1998 issued by the 1st respondent, and the consequential proceedings issued by the 2nd respondent dated 07.07.1999, as arbitrary and illegal, and to direct the respondent to release the petitioner’s remaining gratuity amount of Rs.1,56,354-25 ps. The 1st respondent is the Joint Registrar/District Co-operative Officer, Adilabad, and the 2nd respondent is the General Manager, Adilabad District Co-operative Central Bank Limited. The 1st respondent issued proceedings dated 26.10.1998 calling upon the petitioner to show cause why an order under Section 60(1) of the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act not be passed against him for recovery of Rs.1,59,679/- with interest at 24% per annum. The said sum of Rs.1,59,679/- is said to be the amount incurred by the petitioner towards car hire charges of Rs.85,024/-, fuel charges of Rs.31,481/-, and the differential traveling allowance of Rs.39,849/-. The petitioner claims to have showed cause vide his letter dated 26.11.1998. It is not even the petitioner’s case that the 1st respondent passed any surcharge order thereafter. He is aggrieved by the proceedings of the 2nd respondent dated 07.07.1996, which is the letter addressed by the 2nd respondent to the 1st respondent informing the latter that they had received current advise for Rs.1,56,354.25 ps from APCOB Hyderabad vide its letter dated 29.06.1999, and that they were advised to adjust the said amount towards outstanding dues. The 2nd respondent informed the 1st respondent that they had debited the said amount in their current account with APCOB, and had credited the same to the amounts outstanding in respect of car hire charges, fuel charges and T.A. bills. In effect, the petitioner questions the proceedings issued by the Adilabad District Cooperative Central Bank Limited dated 07.07.1999. The said bank is a society registered under the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1964. A Full Bench of this Court, in Sri Konaseema Co-operative Central Bank Ltd., Amalapuram v. N. Seetharama Raju[1], held that the bye-laws of a Co-operative Society, registered under the A.P. Co-operative Societies Act, do not have the force of law; they are in the nature of a contract; and as the Society cannot be characterized as a “State” the service conditions of its employees, governed by bye-laws, cannot be enforced through a Writ Petition. As such the relief sought for by the petitioner, as against the 2nd respondent, cannot be granted. Leaving it open to the petitioner to avail such other remedies, as are available to him in law, to recover the said sum of Rs.1,56,354.25 ps, which the petitioner alleges has been illegally retained by the 2nd respondent, the Writ Petition fails and is, accordingly, dismissed. However, in the circumstances, without costs. ____________________________ RAMESH RANGANATHAN, J Date: 12.08.2010 MRKR [1] AIR 1990 AP 171