JUDGMENT

The Managing Director of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (hereinafter referred to as K.S.R.T.C. for short) has filed this writ petition against the award passed by the Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies (General), Ernakulam in ARC No.288 of 2003-Ext.P1 and the order passed by the Kerala Cooperative Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram in Appeal No.56 of

2010-Ext.P2, affirming the award.

2. The 1st respondent, Kerala State Transport Employees Co-operative Society Ltd., filed ARC No.288 of 2003 under section 69 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 , for a direction to the petitioner to pay interest at the rate of 18% per annum for the delay in payment of the amount due to the first respondent society, after recovering the same from the members of the co-operative society, who are employees of the petitioner towards the monthly instalments due to the society on account of the loan availed by them. Their case was as follows:

3. The first respondent society has been advancing loan to its members. The members are employees of K.S.R.T.C. The loan is disbursed after getting an undertaking from the members/employees that recovery from their salary will be effected in