Govinda Menon, J.-This is an application for the issue of a writ of certiorari under Article 226 of the Constitution for the calling up of the records in R.C.No. 129516-F of 1950, dated 5th December, 1950, passed by the Registrar of Co-operaative Societies, Madras, superseding the Sripuram Co-operative Society, to quash the order of the Registrar and for passing such other orders as this Court deems fit.

As a result of complaints regarding the unsatisfactory working of the co-operative society resulting from acts of mismanagement committed by the Board of Directors the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies on 21st October, 1950, directed the Sub-Registrar of Co-operative Societies to conduct an enquiry into the constitution, working and financial conditions of the Society. The Sub-Registrar on the same date issued a notice to the President of the Co-operative Marketing Society under section 38 of the Madras Co-operative Societies Act of 1932 stating that he had been ordered by the Deputy Registrar to conduct an enquiry and therefore requesting the President to produce the account books of the Society, cash balance and other properties on 23rd October, 1950, at 9a.m. at Sripuram Society’s office to enable him to conduct the enquiry. He further requested the President to be present during the enquiry or depute such other person who can give him information that may be required during such an enquiry. On the 22nd, the President wrote a letter to the Sub-Registrar asking him to postpone the enquiry to the 28th or 29th of October when either himself or his secretary would be available to take part in the proceedings. As a result of the report submitted by the Sub-Registrar which was forwarded to the Registrar of Go-operative Societies by the Deputy Registrar, a notice under section 43 of the Co-operative Societies Act dated 4th November, 1950, was issued to the Society detailing the various grounds of mat-administration and stating that the Registrar proposed to supersede the committee and to appoint nominee to manage its affairs during the period of supersession. The notice gives as reasons that the President of the Society sold the tractor trailer and ploughs for a sum of Rs.10,500 to the Society and that was not in working condition even at the time of the sale and therefore the amount spent on its maintenance is a waste. It was further suggested that the President was retaining heavy cash balance in his hand without remitting them into the banks as and when received. A further objection was that the accounts of the Society have not been written after 30th June, 1950. It was further alleged that the factory belonging to the Society was sold to a person who was none other than the brother-in-law of the President and thereby the Society incurred a heavy loss. In the counter-affidavit filed in this Court, Mr. J.C. Rayan, the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, states that on the receipt of a petition, dated 24th September, 1950, from 14 members of the Society alleging mismanagement of the Society by its ex-president, the Co-operative Sub-Registrar, Guntur, enquired into the petition and submitted his report to the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Guntur, who recommended in his report, dated 25th October, 1950, the supersession of the committee of the Society. It is further stated that the facts reported by the enquiring officer provided ample evidence to warrant the supersession of the committee of the Society and therefore he ordered the supersession of the committee on 5th December, 1950, for a period of six months from 10th December, 1950 and appointed a special officer to conduct the business of the Society. Before issuing the order of supersession, the Registrar says that he considered all the relevant materials which were before him relating to the affairs of the Society and formed an opinion that the committee was not functioning properly. The main reason on which the petitioner seeks to have the orders of su

Click Here to Read the rest of this document