IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED: 08-12-2025

CORAM

THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE V. LAKSHMINARAYANAN

W.M.P.Nos.38320 of 2025 & 36120 of 2024

M.Malarvizhi

W/o.J.Samuvel, No.17/2, Krishnan Street,

Thandubazar, Arcot, Ranipet (dt) - 632 503.

..Petitioner(s)

Vs

1. The Deputy Registrar Of Co- Operative Societies,

Ranipet Circle.

2. The Administrator

V.V.2760, Arcot Panchayat Union Teachers

Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society, Arcot,

Ranipet (dt).

3. The Sub Registrar

Registration Department, Arcot, Ranipet (dt).

..Respondent(s)

PRAYER : Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records of the conditional attachment order passed by the 1st respondent in RC 1741/2021/SF dated 14.10.2024 under Section 167 Tamil Nadu Co- Operative Societies Act, 1983 and quash the same and direct the respondents to raise the order of attachment

made in on file of the 3rd respondent.

For Petitioner(s) : Mr. L.P. Shanmugasundaram

For Respondent(s): Mr.S.Ravikumar, SGP for R1 & R2

Mr.Stalin Abimanyu, AGP for R3

ORDER

This Writ Petition has been filed to call for the records of the conditional attachment order passed by the 1st respondent in RC 1741/2021/SF dated 14.10.2024 under Section 167 Tamil Nadu Co- Operative Societies Act, 1983 and quash the same and direct the respondents to raise the order of attachment passed by the 3rd respondent.

2. The petitioner's husband is one Mr.Samuvel. He was the President of the second respondent Society. Alleging that he had indulged in the acts of misfeasance and malfeasance, surcharge proceedings have been initiated against him. The claim in the surcharge proceedings is that Mr.Samuvel is liable to answer the second respondent Society to the tune of Rs.44,04,481/-. The surcharge proceedings is said to be pending as on today. Pending disposal of the surcharge proceedings, the impugned order has come to be passed. As per the impugned order, the property of the petitioner has been attached. Hence, this Writ Petition.

3. Heard Mr.L.P.Shanmugasundaram, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.S.Ravikumar, learned Special Government Pleader for R1 & R2 and Mr.Stalin Abimanyu, learned Additional Government Pleader for R3.

4. Mr.L.P.Shanmugasundaram states that the petitioner obtained the property from her mother, one, Tmt.Neshamani. The said Neshamani had purchased the property as early as on 26.06.1970 and had transferred the property in favour of the petitioner on 25.11.2005 by way of registered settlement deed. The petitioner had in turn executed a mortgage in favour of one Tmt.Prema and had executed a sale deed as a security on 31.10.2007. She had re-purchased the property by way of a registered document on 02.09.2010. 5. Mr.L.P.Shanmugasundaram urges that the petitioner's husband Samuvel was the President of the second respondent Society between the year 2018 and 2020. In other words, his plea is that the petitioner had obtained the property, atleast a decade before, her husband was the President of the second respondent Society. He places reliance upon the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in the Management, R.A.No.18 Vs. S.Rathinam and Others in W.A.(MD).No.1511 of 2018 dated 11.12.2018. He places particular emphasis on the finding of the Division Bench in Paragraph Nos. 8 and 9 of the said judgment which are extracted hereunder:

“8. As per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Co-

operative Societies Act and the Rules, this Court is of the view that the appellant cannot presume that every property stands in the name of the wife of delinquent against who surcharge proceedings are initiated as the property purchased out of the money provided by the delinquent so that the same could be attached as a property of the delinquent.

9. So long as the provision of Co-operative Societies Act or Rules framed therein do not contemplate a statutory fiction or presumption in favour of the Society to proceed against the property of a stranger, this Court is of the