The legal point established is that the rules and orders governing recovery from government servants' pay do not apply to Extra Departmental Employees, and therefore the respondents were not obligated to provide cooperation for recovery of loan instalments.

1. The prayer in the writ petition is for issuance of Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the respondents relating to the order of the first respondent bearing No.18-1/2002-WL and Sports dated 3.06.2002 and quash the same and direct the first to fourth respondents to forthwith grant to the fifth respondent viz. MM 3263 Madurai District Postal Extra Departmental Employees Co-Operative Thrift and Credit Society Ltd., the facility of recovery of monthly instalments towards the loan amounts granted by the said Society from the pay rolls of the members of the Society.

2. The brief facts of the case is as follows:-

The writ petitioner stated that he is the Secretary of the Southern Region Association namely All India Postal Extra Departmental Employees Union, (Tamilnadu Circle Southern Region, Madurai). This association affiliated to the National Federation of Postal Employees and is recognized under the Extra Departmental Agents (Recognition of Association) Rules, 1995. 304 Extra Departmental Employees in the Madurai Division and Theni Division are members of the said Association. All the 304 members of the Petitioner's Association are also members of the MM 3263 Madurai District Postal Extra Departmental Employees Co-Operative Thrift and Credit Society Limited. The said Society was formed as the Postal Extra Departmental Staff unlike the Departmental Staff who do not get loans from the Postal Department and do not have any other facility to obtain loans. The said Society was registered by the Deputy Registrar of the Co-Operative Society, Madurai Circle on 16.07.2001 vide his order bearing R.C.No.7712 of 2000 L.D.B(1) and the said Society began functioning on 22.08.2001.

3. The main objective of the said Society is to give personal loans to its members, the Society can obtain sufficient loan facility from the Madurai Central District Co-Operative Bank and began granting loans to its members only if the 1st to 4th respondents agreed to issue suitable directions to the Drawing and Disbursing Officers in the Madurai and Theni Divisions to recover the monthly instalments towards the loans granted from the pay roll of the concerned employees.

4. The Petitioner Association expressed their intention to the Co-operative Department to start the 5th respondent Society, pre-condition putforth by the Department was that the Postal Department must agree to recover the monthly instalments from the pay bill of the loanee employees and the amount so recovered should be remitted to the Society. Therefore, as the Regional Secretary of the Petitioner Association addressed a letter to the Post Master General, Southern Region, Madurai on 28.05.2001 in this regard. Thereafter, on 21.06.2001, the Post Master General, Southern Region, Madurai issued a letter bearing No.TEB/275-4/2001 stating that the Petitioner Association request to recover the due amounts from the loanee employees and to remit it to the Society could be complied with only if the following documents are produced namely (1) Certificate of Registration of the Society; and (2) Certificate of Commencement of Business.

5. Thereafter on 02.09.2001, copies of the said documents were forwarded and the Post Master General, Southern Region, Madurai was informed that the Society had started functioning with effect from 22.08.2001 and details of the Board of Directors were also furnished. It was also requested that necessary directions be issued to the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Madurai Division and the Superintendent of Post Offices, Theni Division for recovery from the pay rolls of the Loanee Employees when the Society submits recovery statements to the concerned Drawing and Disbursing Officers. However, no action was forthcoming pursuant to the said reply. Thereafter, on 17.11.2001, the Union made a representation to the Chief Post Master General, Tamil Nadu Circle, Chennai seeking that a discussion be held on the subject in the Four monthly meetings to be h