Ismail, J.- A. S. No. 263 of 1966 and C.R.P. No. 1408 of 1966, have been preferred by one and the same person against the judgment of the learned District Judge of Ramanathapuram at Madurai in O.P. No. 19 of 1964, on his file preferred under section 49 (2) of the Madras Cooperative Societies Act, 1932, hereinafter referred to as the Act. C.R.Ps. Nos. 543 and 1491 of 1966, have been preferred by the petitioners in O.P. Nos. 17 and 21 of 1964, on the file of the same Court, preferred under section 49 (2) of the Act. The Special Officer, Karaikudi. Cooperative Town Bank, Karaikudi, is the common respondent in all these proceedings. The said original petitions were preferred to the District Court, Ramanathapuram at Madurai under section 49 (2) of the Act to set aside the order of the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Sivaganga, in A.R.C. No. 1321 of 1961-62, dated 31st August, 1963. The petitioners in these civil revision petitions were the office bearers of the Cooperative Bank and they were the defendants in A.R.C. No. 1321 of 1961-62 before the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Sivaganga. That was a claim preferred under section 49 (1) of the Act praying for a decree against defendants 1 to 8 therein for a sum of Rs. 3,415.59. The appellant was the ex-President of the Co-operative Bank, while the petitioner in C.R.P. No. 543 of 1966, was the ex-Secretary of the Bank and the petitioners in C.R.P. No. 1491 of 1966, were the ex-Directors of that Bank. The plaint preferred before the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies stated that, according to the by-laws of the Bank, loans shall be given only to members whose share values have been fully paid up and that on 25th February, 1948 defendants 1 to 7 sanctioned a long term loan of Rs. 3,000 to one Sri C. Subramaniavathiar on the mortgage of his house on the recommendation of the eighth defendant and that in sanctioning the said loan proper care was not taken to safeguard the insterests of the Bank. The factual allegation was that the loan was sanctioned on 25th February, 1948 in a hurry without taking into consideration the title deeds and that, in the absence of legal opinion, surveyor report etc., the applicant Subramaniavathiar was sanctioned admission as a member and allotted 60 shares in the same meeting Consequently the gravamen of the charge was that the ex-President, the ex-Secretary and the ex-Directors acted in violation of the by-laws of the Bank in so far as they sanctioned loan on 25th February, 1948 when the person concerned got enrolled himself as a member by paying the share capital only on 27th February, 1948. The Special Officer alleged that by infringing the by-laws of the Bank and other rule and regulations and by their illegal and high-handed act, they had committed a breach of trust in relation to the Bank and consequently they Were liable to be surcharged under the provisions of section 49 of the Act. The petitioners herein denied their liability under section 49. Overruling their defence, the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies passed an order on 31st August, 1963 directing defendants 1 to 8 to pay a sum of Rs. 3,415.59 with interest at 6¼ per cent. from 1st June, 1963 till the date of realisation. It is to set aside this order, they preferred the original petitions referred to above before the District Court, Ramanathapuram at Madurai, under section 49 (2). of the Act. The learned District Judge on 21st July, 1965 dismissed the said petitions. It is the correctness of the conclusion of the learned District Judge that is challenged before us in the appeal and the civil revision petitions referred to above.

2. The respondent in A.S. No. 263 of 1966, is the Special Officer of the Cooperative Bank. A preliminary objection has been taken as regards the maintainability of this appeal. From one point of view, it may not be necessary to decide this question, since the appellant has preferred, as we have already pointed out, C.R.P. No. 140

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