The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Registrar, acting on behalf of the State Government, has the power to issue advertisement for filling up posts in Cooperative Banks, and the appointments made in pursuance of the advertisement are within jurisdiction.

JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

The instant appeal preferred under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent is directed against the order/judgment dated 26.11.2013 passed by learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(S) No.6214 of 2012 and batch cases by which the writ petitions have been dismissed by holding therein that the Registrar acting on behalf of the State Government has the power to issue the impugned advertisement.

2. The brief facts of the case, as per the pleadings made in the writ proceeding, which are required to be enumerated, reads hereunder as :-

2.1 The appellants are Short Term Cooperative Credit Societies registered under Cooperative Societies Act, 1935 and is being governed by the Jharkhand Cooperative Societies Act, 1935 as also by the Jharkhand Cooperative Societies Rules, 1959. It is also governed, inter alia by its own registered Bye-Laws duly registered under the Office of Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Department of Cooperation, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

2.2 The appellants have their own respective General Bodies which consists of all its share-holder having share in the Society/PACS and the said General Bodies happen to be the highest body in so far as taking, inter alia, policy decisions pertaining to the respective Society/ PACS.

2.3 In order to manage the affairs of the aforesaid societies the respective General Bodies of the appellants elect and constitute Managing Committees by a process of election held in accordance with the provisions of the Act, Rules and its Bye-laws.

2.4 The Short Term Cooperative Credit Structure Societies in the State of Bihar are classified under three tier system, inter alia, in terms of their area of operation and are inter connected with each other in the following manner:-

(i) In the 1st tier the Primary Cooperative Societies which function at the grass root village level having an area of operation covering about 2/3 'Gram Panchayats' or part thereof.

(ii) In the 2nd tier the Cooperative Credit Societies which are referred to as the Central/ Intermediate level Societies, exist one in each District and function at the district level having its area of operation covering the entire District and have the status of Cooperative Banks known as the District Central Cooperative Banks. The Central Societies, i.e. the District Central Cooperative Banks are in turn affiliated to the Apex Societies of the State which happens to be the State Cooperative Bank falling in the 3rd tier.

(iii) In the 3rd tier the Cooperative Credit Society in the form of the State Cooperative Bank which happens to be the Apex Societies of the State having an area of operation covering the entire State. It has a General Body of its own which is its Policy Making Body and which consists of all Central Societies within the State which are its Share Holder/ Members and are affiliated to it.

2.5 The Dhanbad Central Cooperative Bank Limited, Dhanbad is a Short Term Cooperative Credit Society and it also functions as a Cooperative Bank, under the Banking Licence issued to it by the Reserve Bank of India. The appellant Nos.1 and 2 are the Shareholders of the Dhanbad Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. Dhanbad, and by virtue of the same, are members of its General Body.

2.6 The representatives of the appellant No.1 & 2 and the representative of other similar Primary Cooperative Societies within the District of Dhanbad, happen to be the Share Holder of the DCC Bank, Dhanbad and together by a process of election, legally constitute the Managing Committee of the DCC Bank, Dhanbad which in turn is responsible for managing the affairs of the said Bank.

2.7 The State Government machinery which is responsible for holding election for constitution of a new Managing Committee after the term of the outgoing Managing Committee ends, willfully defaulted in holding such election and consequently the democratic management of DCC Bank superseded after 31st December 2006 and it still continues to be under supersession. In similar situations, the Di