Nawadun Korale Co Operative Stores Union Ltd. V. Premaratne, W.M.

1954 Present : Gratiaen J. and Sansoni J.

NAWADUN KORALE CO OPERATIVE STORES UNION, LTD.,

Appellant, and  W. M. PREMARATNE, Respondent

S. C. 496-D.C . Ratnapura, 391 8

Co-operative Societies Ordinance (Cap. 107)-Section 45-Dispute between co-operative society and past officer-Act No. 21 of 1949-Act No. 17 of 1952-Retroactive effect-Appeal-Power of Appellate Court to re-hear case-Interpretation Ordinance (Cap. 2), s. 6 (3) (c)-Courts Ordinance (Cap. 6), s. 37.

The provisions of neither the Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, No. 21 of 1949, nor the Co-operative Societies (Special Provisions) Act, No. 17 of 1952, are applicable to a dispute which had originated between a co-operative society and one of its " past officers " prior to 24th May, 1949, and which was pending in appeal to the Supreme Court at the time when Act No. 17 of 1952 came into force.

Section 2 of the Co-operative Societies (Special Provisions) Act, read with section 6 (3) (c) of the Interpretation Ordinance, does not interfere with the rights of the parties in an action which had already commenced before the Act was passed, or in a pending appeal filed before that date.

Quaere : Does the Supreme Court, when hearing appeals, sit as a Court of rehearing, with unqualified power to make such order as the Judge of first instance could have made if the case had been heard by him at the date on which the appeal was heard ? Does its power extend to the re-examination of substantive rights in the light of fresh legislation passed in the interval between the judgment of the Court of first instance and the hearing of an appeal against it ? Silva v. Swaris (1904) 1 Bal. Rep. 61, considered.

APPEAL from a judgment of the District Court, Ratnapura.

H. V. Perera, Q. C., with E. R. S. R. Coomaraswamy and E. B. Vannithamby, for the plaintiff appellant.

C. Thiagalingam, Q. C., with H. W. Jayewardene and E. A. D. Atukorale, for the defendant respondent.

cur. adv. vult.

June 24, 1954. GRATIAEN J.-

This is an appeal against a judgment pronounced by the learned District Judge of Ratnapura on 25th July, 1951, refusing to enforce a purported award dated 14th February, 1951, in favour of a co-operative society under the provisions of the Co-operative Societies Ordinance (Cap. 107).

The respondent had been the manager of the society from March 1946 until his services were discontinued on 1st November, 1947. In June 1948 the society purported to refer an existing dispute between itself and the respondent under section 45 concerning the respondent's alleged

accountability for certain sums which he had received during his period of office. The Registrar, however, upheld the respondent's objection that section 45 (in its original form) had no application to a dispute between the society and one of its " past officers ". So matters stood until the Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act, No. 21 of 1949, passed into law on 24th May, 1949. In consequence of this new legislation, section 45 in its new form for the first time authorised a dispute which " arises " between a society and a " past officer " to be referred to the decision of a statutory tribunal under the special machinery set up by the Ordinance.

In spite of objection by the respondent, the society purported on 8th February, 1950, to refer to the Registrar under section 45 (as amended) the present dispute which had admittedly originated before the amending Act passed into law. An award upon this reference was made against the respondent (as a " past officer ") in favour of the society on 18th August, 1950, and was filed in Court on 14th February, 1951, with an application for its enforcement. It directed the respondent to pay to the society a sum of Rs. 8,844/35 and accrued interest.

The learned District Judge refused to enforce the award because, although the amending Act of 1949 had enlarged the c

Click Here to Read the rest of this document