THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE T.MADHAVI DEVI W.P.NO. 6939 OF 2025 AND W.P.NOS.19191 AND 29982 OF 2023

COMMON ORDER:

W.P.No.6939 of 2025 In W.P.No.6939 of 2025, the petitioner is seeking a writ of mandamus declaring the attachment of the petitioner’s properties as per Rc.No.80/2022-C, dated 06.02.2025, issued by the respondent No.3, as illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional and consequently to set aside the said attachment order and to direct the respondents particularly respondent No.3 to refrain from taking any further coercive action against the petitioner’s properties and also not to make any adverse entries in concerned register against the petitioner’s properties and to grant any other relief as this Court deems fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.

2. Brief facts leading to the filing of W.P.No.6939 of

2025 are that the petitioner’s husband, i.e., respondent No.5 was the Chief Executive Officer of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS), Yamapur and pursuant to the inquiry conducted under Section 51 of the Telangana Cooperative Societies Act, 1964 (TCS Act) and Surcharge orders under Section 60 of the TCS Act, dated 03.02.2025 to recover the surcharge amount of Rs.74,60,333/-, from respondent No.5 the properties of the petitioner were attached under Section 73 of the TCS Act. Pursuant to the impugned order dated 06.02.2025, the petitioner claims to have made a representation on 15.02.2025 stating that the properties attached vide impugned orders are her own self acquired properties i.e., the properties acquired through her “SRI DHANAM” and also from the profits earned by her from the businesses started with her own “SRI DHANAM” and that her husband i.e., respondent No.5 has no share or right over the said properties. Challenging the impugned attachment order, W.P.No.6939 of 2025 has been filed.

3. Pending consideration of the contention of the petitioner, that the respondent No.3 has no jurisdiction to attach the third party properties without proper inquiry under Section 73 of the TCS Act, vide Interim Orders dated 06.03.2025, this Court had stayed the operation of the proceedings dated 06.02.2025 and restrained the respondents from proceeding with the attachment of the petitioner’s properties.

4. Respondent No.3 has filed a counter affidavit along with stay vacate petition i.e., I.A.No.2 of 2025 and submitted that the surcharge proceedings were concluded by holding the petitioner’s husband i.e., respondent No.5 as responsible for misappropriation of funds to a tune of Rs.76,28,519/- and that on 30.12.2023, the President of PACS, Yamapur, has submitted a representation to the respondent No.3 that there are no properties or amount in the name of the respondent No.5 and therefore the property pertaining to the petitioner, the wife of the respondent No.5 herein is to be attached and furnished the particulars of her land for appropriate action and therefore, the notice under Section 73 of the TCS Act was issued to the petitioner and that she has submitted her explanation to it and after considering her explanation, the property was attached duly following the provisions of Section 73 of the TCS Act. The respondent No.3 has thus justified the action taken against the writ petitioner.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner, while reiterating the submissions made in the writ affidavit, submitted that the petitioner is the wife of the respondent No.5, but however, she has her own independent source of income, i.e., her Sri Dhanam, which she has invested in business of liquor and that she had participated in the e-auction and thereafter, has earned the income therefrom with which she purchased the said properties and thus, the respondent No.3 has no jurisdiction to attach her properties. He further placed reliance upon the decision of this Court in W.P.No.15953 of 2019 and batch, dated 01.11.2019, for the proposition that there are two conditions to be fulfilled to invoke Section 73 of the TCS Act i.e., (i) the petit