IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
J.A. Patil, J.
Shri Ramesh T. Gopalani..... Petitioner.
Versus
The Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd. another..... Respondents.
Writ Petition Nos. 732, 733, 734 and 735 of 1999, decided on 22-2-2000.
Advocates appeared :
B.J. Mulchandani, for petitioner.
Y.R. Naik, for respondents.
2.The petitioner is a debtor while respondent No. 1 is a Co-operative Bank. Respondent No. 2 is the Recovery Officer of the said Bank. In the year 1994 the petitioner was granted cash credit facility of Rs. 13,50,000/-. In addition, he was granted 3 loans. The first being of Rs. 2,30,000/- for purchase of a car. The second of Rs. 50,000/- and the third of Rs. 50,000/-. It appears that the petitioner failed to clear arrears of the above mentioned loans hence the respondent Bank filed an application before the Dy. Registrar, Co-operative Society and obtained 4 separate recovery certificates against the petitioner under section 101 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 (for short, the 'Act'). On the basis of the said recovery certificates, the respondent bank took up execution proceedings and attached the car and shop belonging to the petitioner. The petitioner then filed a revision application under section 154 of the Act, challenging the recovery certificates issued against him. The Divisional Joint Registrar by his order dated 10-4-1997 partly allowed the revision applications and confirmed recovery certificates issued by the Dy. Registrar. However, he directed the respondent bank to release the car and shop of the petitioner forthwith. The order further states that the respondent bank was at liberty to execute the recovery certificates against any other assets of the petitioner. Being dis-satisfied with the said order, the respondent bank filed a revision application under section 154 of the Act to the State Government. The Minister of State for Co-operation by his order dated 15th January, 1999 allowed the revision applications and set aside the order passed by the Joint Registrar and restored the order passed by the Dy. Registrar. It is this order which is impugned by the petitioner in this writ petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.
3.Shri Mulchandani, the learned Advocate for the petitioner contended before me that the impugned order is patently illegal since section 154 of the Act does not contemplate any second revision. Shri Naik, the learned Advocate for the respondent, however, pointed out that the petitioner did not raise the question of maintainability of the second revision before the State Government and therefore, it is now not open to him to agitate this point. In order to appreciate the controversy it would first be proper to refer to section 154 of the Act, which reads as under:-
154. (1) The State Government or the Registrar, suo motu or on an application, may call for and examine the record of any inquiry or proceedings of any matter other than those referred to in sub-section (9) of section 149, where any decision or order has been passed by any subordinate officer, and no appeal lies against such decision or order, for the purpose of satisfying themselves as to the legality or propriety of any such decision or order, and as to the regularity of such proceedings. If, in any case, it appears to the State Government, or the Registrar, that any decision or order so called for should be modified, annulled or reversed, the State Government or the Registrar, as the case may be, may, after giving the person affected thereby an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as to it or him may seem just.
(2) Under this section, the revision shall lie to the State Government if the decision or order is passed by the Registrar, the Additional Registrar or a Joint Registrar, and to the Registrar if passed by any other officer.
(3) No application for revision shall be entertained, if made after two months of the date of communication of the decision or order. The revisional auth
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