1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 761 OF 2009 The Osmanabad District Central Co-op. Bank Ltd., Osmanabad, through its Managing Director Petitioner Versus 1 The Jain Irrigation System Ltd., Jalgaon, Tq. & Dist.Jalgaon, through its Senior Manager Marketing. 2 The Terna Shetkari Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd., Ternanagar, Tq. & Dist.Osmanabad, through its Managing Director. Respondents Mr.A.L.Tikle, advocate holding for Mr.V.D.Salunke, advocate for the petitioner. Mr.Santosh C. Bhosale, advocate holding for Mr.H.S.Bedi, advocate for Respondent No.1. CORAM: R.M.BORDE, J. DATE : 03rd December, 2009. P.C.: 1 An objection was raised by the petitioner to the entertainability of Dispute before the Cooperative Court, presented under Section 91 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 (for short, `the Act’), by Respondent No.1. According to the petitioner, who is impleaded as Respondent No.2 in the Dispute presented by Respondent No.1-Disputant, Disputant is not a member of the Bank and as such, the Dispute is not entertainable in view of Section 91 of the Act. 2 It is contended by Respondent No.1 - original disputant that the 2 disputant Company is member of Respondent No.1 Terna Shetkari Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana, who (Respondent No.1) is, in turn, member of Respondent No.2 i.e. petitioner herein. An application, presented under Section 9-A of the Code of Civil Procedure raising objection to the entertainability of the dispute, came to be rejected by the Cooperative Court. The order passed by Cooperative Court was subjected to challenge in appeal presented to the Cooperative Appellate Court, which has been turned down by the Cooperative Appellate Court. 3 I have perused orders passed by both the Courts below and heard arguments advanced by learned Counsel appearing for respective parties. 4 Shri Tikle, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner, states that although application was presented under Section 9-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, same can be considered to be an application under Order 14, raising objection to the entertainability of the dispute. A preliminary issue was framed by the Cooperative Court in respect of maintainability of the dispute which has been answered by the Cooperative Court. According to the learned Counsel for petitioner, as disputant - Respondent No.1 herein is not member of Osmanabad District Central Cooperative Bank - Respondent No.2 in the Dispute, the proceedings before the Cooperative Court are not entertainable under Section 91 of the Act. According to him, the proceedings cannot be taken up by a person who is not member of the Society. 5 Section 91 of Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 is quoted below: 3 91 (1) Notwithstanding (anything contained) in any other law for the time being in force, any dispute touching the constitution, (election of the committee or its officers other than elections of committees of the specified societies including its officers), conduct of general meetings management or business of a society shall be referred by any of the parties to the dispute, or by a federal society to which the society is affiliated, or by a creditor of the society, (to a co-operative Court), if both the parties thereto are one or other of the following:- (a) a society, its committee, any past committee, any past or present officer, any past or present agent, any past or present servant or nominee, heir or legal representative of any deceased officer, deceased agent or deceased servant of the society, or the Liquidator of the society (or the Official Assignee of a de-registered society); (b) a member, past member or a person claiming through a member, past member or a deceased member of a society, or a society which is a member of the society (or person who claims to be a member of the society); (c) a person other than a member of the society, with whom the society has any transactions in respect of which any restrictions or regulations have been imposed, made or prescribed under section 43, 44, or 45, and any person claiming through such person; (d) a surety of a member, past member or deceased member, or surety of a person other than a member with whom the society has any transactions in respect of which restriction have been prescribed under section 45, whether such surety or person is or is not a member of the society); (e) any other society, or the Liquidator of such a 4 society (or de-registered society or the Official Assignee of such a de-registered society). Provided that, an industrial dispute as defined in clause (k) of section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, or rejection of nomination paper at the election to a committee of any society other than a notified society under section 73-IC or a society specified by or under section 73-G, or refusal of admission to membership by a society to any person qualified therefor, (or any proceeding for the recovery of the amount as arrears of land revenue on a certificate granted by the Registrar under sub-section (1) or (2) of section 101 or sub-section (1) of section 137 or the recovery proceeding of the Registrar or any officer subordinate to him or an officer of society notified by the State Government, who is empowered by the Registrar under sub- section (1) of section 156 (or any orders, decisions, awards and actions of the Registrar against which an appeal under section 152 or 152A and revision under section 154 of the Act have been provided), shall not be deemed to be a dispute for the purposes of this section. (3) Save as otherwise provided under sub-section (2) of section 93, no Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or other proceeding in respect of any dispute referred to in sub-section (1). Explanation 1- A dispute between the Liquidator of a society (or an official Assignee of a de-registered society) and (the members (including past members, or nominees, heir or legal representative of deceased members) of the same society shall not be referred to the Co-operative Court under the provisions of sub-section (1). Explanation 2- For the purposes of this sub-section, a dispute shall include- (i) a claim by or against a society for any debt or demand due to it from a member or due from it to a member, past members or the nominee, heir or legal representative of a deceased member, or servant for employee whether such a debt or demand be admitted or not; 5 (ii) a claim by a surety for any sum or demand due to him from the principal borrower in respect of a loan by a society and recovered from the surety owing to the default of the principal borrower, whether such a sum or demand be admitted or not; (iii) a claim by a society for any loss caused to it by a member, past member or deceased member, by any officer, past officer or deceased officer, by any agent, past agent or deceased agent, or by any servant, past servant or deceased servant, or by its committee, past or present, whether such loss be admitted or not. (iv) a refusal or failure by a member, past member or a nominee, heir or legal representative, of a deceased member, to deliver possession to a society of land or any other asset resumed by it for breach of conditions of the assignment. 6 In view of sub-section (1)(b) of Section 91, a person, who claims to be a member of the Society, which, in turn, is a member of objector- society, is entitled to present Dispute to the Cooperative Court and same would be entertainable. According to the disputant, the disputant Company is member of Respondent No.1 Karkhana, which, in turn, is member of Respondent No.2 - petitioner herein. Thus, disputant, being member of Respondent No.2, who, in turn, being member of petitioner-society, Dispute presented before Cooperative Court is entertainable. The view taken by the Cooperative Court, which has been confirmed by Cooperative Appellate Court, therefore, cannot be said to be erroneous. No interference is called for in the instant writ petition. 4 Writ Petition, therefore, stands rejected. (R.M.BORDE) adb/wp76109 JUDGE