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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V., C.Jayachandran, C.Pratheep Kumar
Board Of Directors, The Kozhippally Service Co-Operative Bank Limited – Appellant
Versus
Joint Registrar Of Co-Operatives (General) – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. introduction to the case and legal reference (Para 1) |
| 2. role of the registrar in initiating inquiries (Para 2 , 10) |
| 3. court's procedure for hearing arguments (Para 3 , 4) |
| 4. arguments in favor of registrar's personal satisfaction (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 5. counterarguments against melukkara's interpretation (Para 9) |
| 6. court's analysis of responsibility under section 65 (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 7. distinction of powers and delegation of authority (Para 16 , 17) |
| 8. conclusion and reiteration of court's stance (Para 19 , 20) |
ORDER
C. Jayachandran , J.
The scope, ambit and interpretation of Section 65 (1) of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, as elucidated in the Melukkara Service Co-operative Bank Ltd.No.PT.152, Pathanamthitta and Another v. Joint Registrar (General), District Co-operative Society, Pathanamthitta District - 689 [ 2018 (2) KHC 143 (DB)], has been doubted by a Division Bench in the above Writ Appeal, and accordingly, the matter has been placed before this Full Bench, as per the Orders of the Hon'ble the Chief Justice.
2. Interpreting Section 65 (1), the Division Bench in Melukkara (supra) held that the responsibility cast upon the Registrar, when he act
The court established that the Registrar's responsibility under Section 65(1) is uniform across sub-sections, requiring satisfaction based on available materials, without necessitating personal inspe....
The court emphasized that inquiries under Section 25 must reflect the Registrar's independent reasoning, not merely follow complaints from less than 1/3rd of society members.
compliance of Rule 66(2) of the Rules is required only for an inspection in terms of sub-section (2) of Section 66 of the Act.
Procedure for conduct of inquiry and inspection - A person can be proceeded against and vested with liability only if an objective assessment of evidence and materials available on record leads to ir....
Petitioners must raise their contentions before the competent authority upon issuance of show cause notice under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969, as they cannot contest the inquiry report....
S.66A gives due authority/power to the Registrar to give such directions. The Section empowers the Registrar to give general directions for furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
The court established that parties must wait for further actions based on inquiry reports before raising objections, promoting procedural fairness under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act.
The Registrar has the discretion to order an inquiry into the affairs of a society based on a complaint by a non-member, as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960.
Point of Law : Materials disclosed in an inquiry report of the Vigilance Officer can certainly be used for the purpose of surcharging a person after due inquiry as provided for under Section 68(1).
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