A person who acquires the status of a tenant under a co-operative society cannot be evicted without a proceeding in a civil court, even if the society's rules and bye-laws prohibit the handing over of possession of such flats in the co-operative housing to any body corporate.

( 1 ) THE present Revisional application, which is directed against Order No. 6 dated 14th of September, 1993, passed by the learned District Judge, Alipore in Misc. Appeal No. 405 of 1993, raises an important question about the scope and applicability of section 95 (1) of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act. The question, on more than one occasion, had fallen for consideration by the Apex Court of the country. But, notwithstanding a number of decisions rendered by the said Court on such occasions, in one of the recent decisions of that Court, it had judicially acknowledged that there was "lack of clarity in legal position. " The resultant effect has been that counsel, on behalf of the contesting parties, have made full utilisation of their forensic dexterity and ingenuity to make emphatic submissions in justification of the respective contentions of their clients.

( 2 ) THE relevant facts culminating with the above order may be succinctly stated as follows :-the Revisional petitioner filed a Title Suit (Title Suit No. 43 of 1993) in the court of the learned Assistant District Judge, Alipore,, inter alia, for permanent and mandatory injunctions seeking to restrain the defendant from obstructing or interfering with the plaintiff/petitioner's possession in the suit flat with all amenities and essential services and to remove any obstruction to such enjoyment of the flat. An ad-interim order of injunction initially granted by the Trial Court stood vacated on the basis of an application under Order 39 rule 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure, preferred by the Defendants Nos. 1 to 4, along with the prayer of the plaintiff/petitioner under section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure for mandatory order directing the restoration of electric supply. The plaintiff/petitioner preferred Misc. Appeal No. 405 of 1993 and in the said appeal, made an application for injunction under Order 39, rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Section 151 of the said Code, on which, by Order No. 3 dated 25th of August, 1993, an order for maintenance of status quo had been issued. On 26th of August, 1993, the petitioner/appellant, preferred an application under section 151 of the Code of Civil procedure, for modification of the said order of status quo by directing the opposite parties to restore or reconnect electricity in the said flat. The impugned order rejected the said application for restoration or reconnection of electricity, inter alia, with a finding that the suit was barred by the provisions of section 95 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act.

( 3 ) IN the background of the aforesaid facts, we have been called upon to answer the question relating to the jurisdiction of the Civil Coast vis-a-vis the statutory Tribunal created by the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act.

( 4 ) ON behalf of the contesting parties, a number of decisions of the Supreme Court, of this Court and other High Courts have been cited to substantiate the respective standpoints of the contesting parties. The said decisions, excepting two, which we have been able to lay our hand on, on proper reading and analysis, appear to pronounce and formulate the following principles :- (A)air 1991 SC 1378 (Ratnakar Gajanan Godambe v. Ratna Prabha Co-operative Society and Others) : The two judges remanded the case to the High Court for consideration afresh, if necessary, by taking fresh evidence as regards the extent of protection that would be available to him, both as regards the forum and the grounds upon which he could be evicted, after adverting to the principles and factors laid down in the case of Sanwarmal Kejriwal (AIR 1990 SC 1563) which could not be done due to lack of clarity of the legal position. (B)marine Times Public Pvt. Ltd. v. Shriram Transport and Finance Co. Ltd. AIR 1991 SC 626 ). Before a dispute would be referred under section 91 (1) of the Co-operative Societies Act, it was equally essential that the parties to the disp