Registrar has no power to re-appoint or extend services of superannuated persons.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by A.S.Venkatachalamoorthy, J.:

1. Theabove writ appeal has been directed against the Order in W.P.No.16833 of 1998.

2. Thebrief facts necessary for the purpose of dealing with this appeal can be stated as under:

The appellant was working as Secretary of the Kancheepuram Co-operative Housing Society Limited and he retired on attaining the age superanuation on 37. 1998. The Registrar of Cooperative Housing Society namely the second respondent herein issued proceedings in Na.Ka.No.11534 of 1998/E4 dated 29. 1998 reappointing the appellant for a year. The first respondent herein as writ petitioner challenged the validity of the said order on the ground that the same is violative of the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act and Rules. In short the contention of the first respondent/writ petitioner is that the appellant is not eligible to be appointed in the same post namely as Secretary and the order is totally without jurisdiction contrary to the provisions of the Act. The writ petition is allowed by the learned single Judge of this Court by an Order dated 22. 1999. Along with the present writ appeal the appellant has also filed C.M.P.No.3453 of 1999 praying this Court to stay the operation of the said order and in fact stay was granted by an order dated 3. 1999 for a period of eight weeks and thereafter by a subsequent Order dated 4. 1999 the interim stay already granted was extended until further orders. It is gathered that taking note of the fact that the order of the learned single Judge has been stayed, the second respondent namely the Registrar of Co-operative Housing Societies has again reappointed the appellant for a period of one year obviously for the period from 24th September, 1999 to 23rd September, 2000.

3. The short question that arises for determination is as to whether the second respondent namely the Registrar of Co-operative Housing Societies is vested with powers to reappoint a person namely an Officer, in this case a Secretary, on his attaining the age of superanuation.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the appellant drew the attention of this Court to the various provisions in the Act namely Secs.73, 74, 75, 76, 77 and 181 of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act, 1983; Rule 149 of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Rules, 1988, special bylaws relating to the service conditions of the employees of the Kancheepuram Housing Society Limited and Rule 45 of the Tamil Nadu State and Sub-ordinate Services Rules and contended that the reappointment of the appellant as Secretary of the Society in question is perfectly valid and it cannot be said the order as came to be passed by the Registrar of Co-operative Housing Societies without jurisdiction.

5. The learned counsel for the first respondent inter alia contended that the Act does not vest with a power or authority with the Registrar of Co-operative Societies to make such reappointment and that being so the Rules and the By-laws which are framed only to implement the provisions of the Act cannot over-step or go beyond the Act or in other words the contention is that even though there is a by-law to the effect that the Board of management of the society shall have the power to continue an employee beyond the age of 58 years in special cases with the prior permission of the Registrar provided no such extension shall be given for more than one year at a time and more than five years in aggregate. In the absence of any power having been conferred under the Act the second respondent namely the Registrar of Co-operative Societies cannot assume that the special by-laws confers power on him and pass orders of this nature namely reappointing a person in the society, in this case the Secretary.

6. Let us now proceed to examine the various provisions in the Act and Rules. Sec.73 deals with the appointment of paid officers and servants of Registered Societies and their conditions of service. T