Action under Section 126-A of the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959 is permissible for misconduct committed by a member individually and not in respect of decisions or acts of the committee of management or its sub-committee to which he was a party as its member.

( 1 ) IN this petition in which the petitioner has prayed for quashing the order of the Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies made under Section 126-A of the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959 ('the Act' for short) removing him from the membership of the committee of management of Bijapur District Central Co-operative Bank and disqualifying him from holding any office in the Bank as also in any other co-operative society, for a period of three years, which has been confirmed in appeal by the Additional Registrar of Co-operative Societies, the following question of law arises for consideration -"whether a member of a managing committee of a co-operative society is liable to be removed from the office and disqualified for being a member of managing committee on the ground that he was a party to a decision or act, of the managing committee, which is found to be violative of the provisions of the Act or the Rules or the bye-laws and/or prejudicial to the interests of the Society, by an order made under Section 126-A of the Act?"

( 2 ) THE facts of the case, in brief, are as follows : The Bijapur District Central Co-operative Bank, Bijapur, is a Society functioning under the provisions of the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959 ('the Act' for short ). The petitioner was a member of the Executive Committee of the Bank. He was also a member of the Loan Sub-Committee. In the executive committee meeting of the Bank held on 14-12-1983, a decision was taken to grant extension of time for three months from 1-12-1983 for repayment of 41 loans of 34 societies involving an amount of Rs. 67,35,504/ -. Bye-law No. 39 of the Bank reads -"39. The period of loans shall be as under : - (1) Short term loans : In case of loans given to member societies for seasonal agricultural operations, the period of repayment shall be limited to harvesting season of the crop for the raising of which the loan is given; in other cases, the period shall not be more than one year or the harvesting season of the principal crop of the area. (2) Intermediate loans : The period shall not exceed five years. (3) Loans to Nominal Members : The period shall not exceed nine months. The Executive Committee or the Board of Directors shall specify period of loans in each case on the basis of the above at the time of sanctioning loans. The executive committee, if so authorised by the Board, shall have power to grant extension of time for payment of loans in exceptional circumstances before the repayment falls due". (Underlined by me) according to the above bye-law, extension of time could be granted in exceptional circumstances and only before repayment fell due. The extension granted by the Committee on 14-12-1983 were in cases in which not only there were no exceptional circumstances but also the loan had become overdue.

( 3 ) ON 12-12-1983 a meeting of the Loan Sub-Committee was held. In the said meeting a decision was taken to sanction Cash Credit Loan of Rs. 5,74,600/- to 18 societies and High Yielding Variety Programme Loan amounting to Rs. 3,16,000/- to three societies. These two types of loans were adjusted to Short Term/medium Term Loan accounts of the respective societies in the Bank on or before 14th December, 1983. The sanction was made just three days before the announcement of the list of defaulters for the purpose of general body meeting and election of the Managing committee of the Bank.

( 4 ) THE Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Belgaum, was of the view that the giving of three months 'time to repay the loans after the 34 societies had become defaulters, by the resolution of the Executive Committee on 14-12-1983 and the sanctioning of loans and adjusting the same towards Short Term and Medium Term loan accounts of the respective societies, by the Loans Sub-Committee on 14th December 1983, were done with the intention of excluding those societies from the defaulters' list and for the purpose of the election at the gener