JUDGMENT :

APURBA SINHA RAY, J.

Factual Matrix:

1. The writ petitioner/the Calcutta Tramways Employees’ Cooperative Credit Society Limited states that as per Section 59(2) of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 2006, the appellants who are the employers of the members of the said Credit Society, were/are liable to deduct the amounts lent by the Society, from the salaries of the concerned members as per demands of the Society, that is, the writ petitioner, and after such deduction the employers were under an obligation to refund the said amount to the respondent Society within 15 days from the date of such deduction as if it was part of the wages payable by the company under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

1.1. Further, Section 59(3) of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 2006 imposes a strict liability upon the employer and the drawing and disbursing officer of the company in this regard by stipulating that if they fail to make deduction under Sub-section (2) of Section 59 or fail to remit the amount to the co-operative society, the drawing and disbursing officer shall be liable to make the payment to the Employees Cooperative Credit Society together with interest at 12% per annum and the entire amount shall be recoverable from the employer or drawing and disbursing officer by the cooperative society as an arrear of land revenue.

1.2. In the present case, the appellants defaulted in remitting the amount deducted from the salary of the employees of the company to the credit society for a couple of years and inspite of several correspondences from the side of the credit society, the present appellant-company failed to discharge its statutory obligation and for which several legal proceedings were initiated by the present respondent co-operative credit society.

1.3. It is an admitted case of the parties that after long persuasion and also after intervention from the court of law, the appellants ultimately paid off the entire amount which was deducted from the salaries of the concerned employees/members of the credit society and refunded the same to the coffers of the respondent credit society. However, the amount of interest which accrued on the deducted amount was not paid and for which the writ petitioner-credit society as aforesaid brought the present action praying, inter alia, for issuance of writ of mandamus directing the appellants to refund the deducted amount of Rs. 14,60,18,794.99 as on 10.01.2014 to the petitioners society together with interest at 18% per annum on the said principal amount to be calculated up to the date of payment.

1.4. The allegations were contested and after hearing both the parties the Learned Single Judge allowed the writ application directing the appellants to pay the balance due of interest at the statutory rate of 12% per annum till April 15, 2022 to the tune of Rs. 16,01,95,890/- to the respondent society as expeditiously as possible by four equal monthly instalments, in default, the entire amount due, as on the date of such default along with 18% per annum interest on the entire due amount, from the date of default till the date of payment, shall be recovered in terms of Section 59(3) of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 2006 as an arrear of land revenue.

Submission from the Bar

2. Mr. Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the appellants, has argued that the appellants being the respondents in the writ petition had disputed the plea of interest of the writ petitioner as aforesaid, but the Learned Single Judge did not consider the same and went on to decide the writ petition directing the appellants to pay the alleged dues on account of interest till such date which was actually not claimed by the writ petitioner.

2.1. Learned Senior Counsel has also argued that there are several documents and orders of Coordinate Benches of this Court recording the objection of the appellants against the claim of interest as aforesaid, but the Learned Single Jud