1. An important question concerning the construction of S.82 of the Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") arises for decision in this writ appeal. The question is: When could it be said that an award of an Arbitrator had been made the subject-matter of an appeal before the Co-operative Appellate Tribunal?

2. The appellant-writ petitioner was a party to a dispute before the Arbitrator appointed under the Act. The decision turned out to be adverse to him. Aggrieved by that decision, he filed an appeal. That was, however, beyond the prescribed time. A petition for condonation of delay in filing the appeal was duly considered by the Appellate Tribunal. The intrinsic contradictions in the application were such that the Tribunal was not convinced of any sufficient cause for the delay in filing the appeal. That circumstance, however, did not dash the hopes of the appellant. He attempted to salvage his cause successfully as it then turned out by a revision under S.84. He was, initially, confronted with a preliminary plea that the revision was not maintainable. The Tribunal, however, overruled it. Later it went into the merits, and decided the ma