The provision of the Limitation Act, 1963, does not apply to appeals under section 136 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, and the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to condone the delay.

Affidavit of service filed in Court today be kept on record.

2. A short question that falls for consideration in the facts of the instant case is whether the West Bengal Co-operative Tribunal could have entertained an application under section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, and condoned the delay in filing of a statutory appeal by the private respondent no.3 in respect of an award dated 25th July, 2008, passed by an Arbitrator in a proceeding under the provisions of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1983.

3. From the records, it appears that against the award of the arbitrator dated 25th July, 2008, a memo of appeal was taken out by the private respondent no.3 and filed before the West Bengal Co-operative Tribunal on 28th August, 2009, which was initially entertained in the records of the Tribunal as an “Unregistered Appeal” and was –curiously enough – assigned a unique number, being “Unregistered Appeal” No.32 of 2009. Consequently, an application under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1963, was taken out by the appellant praying for condonation of delay of 358 days in filing of the appeal under section 136 of the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 1983. The appellant also sought for a further order for the appeal to be registered and restored to file and also for admission of the appeal and for stay of operation of the award passed by the learned Arbitrator. The learned Tribunal – without even applying its mind with regard to its jurisdiction – proceeded to pass several orders under “Unregistered Appeal” No.32 of 2009, the last of which being the order dated 14th November, 2011, whereby the “Unregistered Appeal” was directed to be registered.

4. The provision of law which governs statutory appeals under the West Bengal Co operative Societies Act, 1983, is laid down under section 136, which reads as follows:

“S. 136. Appeal. – (1) An Appeal shall lie from an order shown in column 2, to the authority shown in column 3, and within the period shown in column 4, of the Third Schedule to this Act.

(2) The provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963 (36 of 1963), shall not apply to an appeal referred in sub-section (1).

(3) Save as provided in this Act or the rules, no appeal shall lie against an order, decision or award made under this Act.

(4) An appeal referred to in sub-section (1) shall be decided by the appellate authority (other than the Cooperative Tribunal) within six months from the date of its presentation :

Provided that if the appellate authority fails to decide an appeal within the aforesaid period, it shall submit a report to the State Government before the expiry of the said period, stating reasons for its failure, and the State Government may allow it such further time as it thinks fit for decision of such appeal”.

5. The above-quoted provision of law clearly and unambigiously excludes the applicability of the provision of the Limitation Act, 1963, in respect of an appeal referred to in sub-section (1) of section 136.

6. A Division Bench of this Court, in M/s. Egra Thana Co-operative Agricultural Marketing Society Limited & Ors. Vs. Registrar of Co-operative Societies & Ors., reported in (2003)1 WBLR (Cal) 488, had an occasion to consider the question of applicability of the provision of the Limitation Act, 1963, in respect of statutory appeals filed under section 136 of the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 1983. It has been clearly held in M/s. Egra Thana Co-operative Agricultural Marketing Society Limited (supra) that the provision of the Limitation Act, 1963, would not apply to a proceeding before the West Bengal Cooperative Tribunal and consequently, the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to condone the delay in filing of the statutory appeal under section 136 (1) of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1983.

7. The entire proceedings before the West Bengal Co-operative Tribunal from the date of passing of the initial order on 28th August, 2009 – whereby the Tribunal directed the memo of