JUDGMENT :

VIKRAM NATH, J.

1. It has been reported that there are more than 5,50,000 active Cooperative Societies in India. They engage in providing economic and social services to not only the neglected and downtrodden sections of the society currently living in rural India, but also cater to a myriad of sections that reside in urban areas. In the Indian context, the cooperatives have been in existence for more than 200 years now. Initially, they were set up to provide for the economically weaker sections of the society but in due course, these cooperatives have grown by leaps and bounds and are not limited to providing houses and products, but are also effective in providing loans and advances.

2. The cooperatives have an autonomous and democratic setup enshrining the concepts of self-help, democracy, equality, mutual cooperation and solidarity. Statutory recognition was first given to the cooperatives by promulgation of the Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904. Later on as incorporation, regulation and winding up of cooperative societies was provided for in Entry 32 of List