An awarded sum payable to a cooperative society under Section 96 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1983, is a "public demand" recoverable by the Certificate Officer as a public demand upon requisition by the cooperative society under Section 132 of the Act.

( 1 ) WHETHER any sum payable to a Co-operative Society in accordance with an award passed under Section 96 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies act, 1983 can be recovered by the Certificate Officer as a public demand under the Bengal Public Demand Recovery Act, 1913 upon requisition by the cooperative society?

( 2 ) THE said question has cropped up in the following background :-The respondent No. 4, a Co-operative Society, supplied 200 pieces silk sarees worth Rs. 93, 280/- to the petitioner herein by two packages through the indian Airlines from Calcutta to Lucknow by air consignment note being A. P. No. 6883767 on 21 st July 1993.

( 3 ) THE petitioner did not pay the value of the said articles to the respondent No. 4 on the ground that the said consignment was not delivered to the petitioner.

( 4 ) IN such a situation a dispute case under Section 95 of the West bengal Co-operative Societies Act was filed by the respondent No. 4 against the petitioner herein. An award was passed by the Director, Handlooms and textile, West Bengal and Additional Registrar of Co-operative (ex officio) on 23rd November, 1998 in the said proceeding being dispute Case No. 3 of 1997-98.

( 5 ) AN appeal was filed against the said award by the petitioner herein before the West Bengal Co-operative Tribunal under Section 136 of the West bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1983 after the expiry of the period of limitation. The said appeal was ultimately dismissed for default on 20th September 2000.

( 6 ) SUBSEQUENTLY, in 2004 a notice together with a copy of certificate filed in the office of the Certificate Officer, Domkal, Murshidabad under Bengal public Demand Recovery Act, 1913 was served upon the petitioner whereby the petitioner was called upon to pay a sum of Rs. 4, 26, 667/ -.

( 7 ) ON receipt of the said notice, the petitioner filed a petition under section 9 of the Bengal Public Demand Recovery Act, 1913 denying its liability to pay the said awarded amount. The executability of the said award under the bengal Public Demand Recovery Act was also challenged on the ground that execution of the award through certificate proceeding cannot be maintained as the mode of such execution is contrary to the mode of execution of the award as prescribed in Rule 179 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Rules 1987.

( 8 ) PENDING consideration of such an objection by the Certificate Officer, the petitioner has filed this writ petition challenging the jurisdiction of the certificate Officer to initiate such a certificate proceeding for realisation of awarded amount on the requisition of the respondent No. 4.

( 9 ) MR. Bhattacharya, learned Counsel, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that when a specific mode for execution of the award of the arbitrator or of the registrar has been prescribed under Rule 179 of the West Bengal Co-operative Society Rules 1987, no other mode other than the mode as prescribed under the said Rule can be adopted for execution of the award passed in a dispute case under Section 95 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act 1983. Mr. Bhattacharya further submitted that this Rule having been framed by the State Government and the same having been ratified by the State legislature subsequently under Section 147 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies act, has equal force as that of the provision contained in the statute and as such the mode of recovery of the awarded sum under Section 132 of the said act cannot override the provision as contained in Rule 179 of the said Rules.

( 10 ) MR. Bhattacharya further submitted that "public demand" has been defined in Section 3 (6) of the Bengal Public Demand Recovery Act, 1913. According to the said Section "public demand" means any arrear or money mentioned or referred to in Schedule-1 and includes any interest which may, by law, be chargeable thereon upto the date on which a certificate is signed under part-II of the said Act. According to Mr. B