Surcharge proceedings under Section 60 of the Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1964, are statutorily confined to individuals who are or were officers, servants, or entrusted with the management of the specific society under inquiry, and cannot be extended to employees of different entities like the District Cooperative Bank.

P C :

As all these Writ Appeals arise out of a common order and raise similar questions of law and facts, they are being disposed of, by way of this common Judgment.

2. Heard Sri Prabhunath Vasi Reddy, learned counsel appearing for the appellants and the learned Advocate General, appearing for the respondents.

3. The Guntur District Cooperative Central Bank Limited, Guntur, (hereinafter referred to as the District Bank) is the Apex Cooperative Bank for the District of Guntur. Various Primary Agricultural Societies are affiliated to the said District Co-Operative Bank. The Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies are granted certain facilities, by the District Cooperative Bank, for advancing loans to their respective members. As a precautionary measure, some of the employees of the District Bank are required to oversee the disbursement of the loans, extended by these primary societies, to their members.

4. On the basis of a news report in the newspapers, an enquiry was initiated in relation to loans given by certain Primary Societies. Apart from this, it appears that periodical inspection of some of these Primary Societies had revealed the possibility of fake loans being granted and certain other irregularities being committed by the Primary Societies. The District Co-operative Officer, Guntur, on the basis of these inputs had initiated separate inquiries, in relation to each Primary Society, under Section 51 of the Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1964 (hereinafter referred to as „the Act‟). The Inquiry Officer, after recording the statements of the persons who were involved in the grant of disbursement of loans both at the level of Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies as well as District Bank had submitted reports on 31.05.2023. In these reports, the Inquiry officer had recommended initiation of Civil, Criminal and Disciplinary action against various employees and officer bearers of the Primary Societies as well as some of the employees of the District Bank. The Joint Registrar by his proceedings, dated 05.06.1963, directed initiation of Civil, Criminal and disciplinary action against the persons mentioned in the Inquiry report, dated 31.05.2023. The appellants herein, who were employees of the District Bank moved W.P.No.13892 of 2023 and batch against the said Inquiry reports, dated 31.05.2023, as well as the proceedings, dated 05.06.2023. About 16 writ petitions came to be filed, in this regard, before this Court. A learned Single Judge of this Court, by a common order, dated 06.11.2024, had dismissed all the said writ petitions. Aggrieved by the said order of dismissal, six of the petitioners, therein have filed the present set of Writ Appeals. The details of the Writ Petitions and Writ Appeals are given below:

5. The appellants herein had assailed the Inquiry report, dated 31.05.2023, as well as the consequential proceedings, dated 05.06.2023 on various grounds including the merits of the case. On the merits of the case as well as on the ground that the said proceedings cold not have been initiated against the appellants as they were not employees of the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies against which the enquiry had been initiated.

6. Before going into these contentions, it would be necessary to review the fact