1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.2543 OF 2008 Shagir Ahmed Mohammed Abbas Khan ..Petitioner. Vs. Divisional Joint Registrar & Ors,. ..Respondents. Mr. Kishor Tembe with Ms. Madhavi Nalawade for the Petitioner. Mr. Bharat Mehta, AGP for Respondent no.1. Mr. Rajesh Tekale for Respondent no.3. CORAM : S.J. VAZIFDAR, J. DATE : 4TH APRIL, 2009 P.C. :- Respondent no.3 is the Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank Ltd. Respondent no.2 is the Special Recovery Officer attached with Respondent no.3. 2. The Petitioner has challenged the orders dated 24.5.2006, 9.9.2006 and 5.9.2008. The orders dated 24.5.2006 and 9.9.2006 were passed by Respondent no.2 and the order dated 5.9.2008 was 2 passed by Respondent no.1, who is the Revisional Authority under section 154 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. 3. Respondent no.3, the Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank Ltd. had obtained a recovery certificate on 18.6.2003 in Case no.ASST/R/2142 of 2002 from the Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Mumbai. Pursuant thereto, Respondent no.2 by an order dated 24.5.2006 attached the property, which is the subject matter of the present proceedings. 4. At the outset, I must clarify that I have not dealt with the merits of the case including the question as to whether the title to the said property vests in the Petitioner and, therefore, cannot be proceeded against for recovery of the dues of Respondent no.3. Suffice it to state that, according to the Petitioner, he is the absolute owner of the said property, having purchased the same by a registered sale deed dated 5.7.2006. The Petitioner claims to have purchased the property from M/s. Kohinoor Trading Company for a price of Rs.2,05,914/-. The Petitioner claims to have paid the entire consideration inter-alia by discharging the dues of M/s. Kohinoor Trading Company to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation towards the arrears of property taxes. The Petitioner states that he received by post on 6.7.2006, a copy of the attachment order dated 24.5.2006 passed by Respondent no.2. According to 3 him, it was only then that he came to know for the first time about the execution proceedings and the recovery certificate. 5. The Petitioner therefore by his Advocate’s letter of August, 2006 raised objections under Rule 107(19)(a) of the Maharashtra Societies Rules 1961 against the attachment of the said property. As stated earlier, it is not necessary to consider the merits of the Petitioner’s contentions inter-alia regarding his title to the said property. By the impugned order dated 9.9.2006 Respondent no.2 rejected the said application. The Petitioner challenged the order dated 9.9.2006 by filing a Revision Application No.496 of 2006 before Respondent no.1 under section 154 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. 6. By an order dated 5.10.2006 Respondent no.1 admitted the Revision Application and granted an order of status-quo till the next date, which was continued thereafter till the disposal of the Revision Application. Ultimately, by the impugned order dated 5.9.2008 the Revision Application was dismissed based on the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court (Aurangabad Bench) in W.P. No.3981 of 2003. Respondent no.1 held that he was not empowered to entertain and decide matters pertaining to any multi-State co-operative society and that Respondent no.3 being a multi-State Co-operative society, the Revision Application was dismissed for want of 4 jurisdiction. 7. In 1964, the Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank was registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. On 11.1.2007, the Petitioner was converted into a multi-State co-operative society. Prior thereto, Respondent no.3 had filed an application for a recovery certificate under section 101 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act. The same was issued on 18.6.2003. The attachment order was passed on 24.5.2006. The Petitioner filed an application under Rule 107(19)(a) of the Maharashtra Co- operative Societies Rules, 1961 in August, 2006. The same was rejected by the said order dated 9.9.2006. The Petitioner thereafter filed the Revision Application on 14.9.2006. It was only thereafter and while the Revision Application was pending, that on 11.1.2003, Respondent no.3 the Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank was converted into a multi-State co-operative bank. The impugned order was passed by Respondent no.1 on 5.9.2008. 8. In the circumstances, the following question falls for consideration :- “Whether the Revisionary Authority has no jurisdiction to entertain and decide an application under section 154 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 filed against a 5 society registered under that Act when the applications under sections 101 and 154 were filed but was converted into a multi-State co-operative society during the pendency of the application for revision whereupon the society was registered under the multi-State Co-operative Societies Act and its registration under the Maharashtra Co- operative Societies Act, 1960 was cancelled.” 9. I have today decided this question by a judgment in Writ Petition No.2618 of 2008 in the case of The Abhyudaya Co-operative Bank Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. This matter is covered by this judgment. 10. In the circumstances, the Writ Petition is disposed of by the following order :- i) The order dated 5.9.2008 is set aside. ii) The Revision Application is restored to file and Respondent no.1 shall decide the same on merits. iii) The status-quo order shall continue till the Revision Application is decided. iv) There shall however be no order as to costs.