Allahabad High Court
Suraksha Gramin Sahkari Awas ... vs State Of U.P. And 4 Others on 5 April, 2023
Bench: Sunita Agarwal, Vikas Budhwar
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Court No. - 39
Case :- SPECIAL APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 229 of 2023
Appellant :- Suraksha Gramin Sahkari Awas Samiti Limited
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others
Counsel for Appellant :- Dinesh Tiwari,Sr. Advocate
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Abhishek Misra
Hon'ble Mrs. Sunita Agarwal,J.
Hon'ble Vikas Budhwar,J.
Order on Application (Leave to file Appeal) No.1 of 2023.
The application seeking leave to file appeal at the instance of a member of Society is allowed, for the fact that a member of the Society is a person who can be said to be interested in the affairs of the Society and, thus, aggrieved by the judgment impugned.
The appellant herein is granted leave to file the instant appeal.
The application is accordingly allowed.
Order on Appeal
Heard Sri Radha Kant Ojha, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Dinesh Tiwari for the appellant and Sri H.R. Mishra, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Abhishek Mishra for Respondent no.5 and the learned Standing Counsel.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record, we find that an issue has arisen with regard to the validity of the appointment of the writ petitioner/ respondent no.5 herein on the post of Secretary of the Cooperative Society since very inception. The issue raised at the preliminary stage with regard to the jurisdiction of the Joint Commissioner and Joint Registrar, Cooperative, Agra Division, Agra dated 20.01.2023 is required to be examined with the above angle.
In the writ petition, the petitioner challenged the order passed by the Joint Commissioner/ Joint Registrar dated 20.01.2023, wherein an officer of the Department has been directed to conduct the affairs of the Society by discharging the duties on the post of Secretary of the concerned Society. In the writ petition, though the Society has been impleaded as Respondent no.5, but through the petitioner himself as Secretary. None of the other office bearers of the Society have been impleaded as respondent. In a writ petition, where the issue is in relation to the continuance of the petitioner as Secretary is to be examined, the impleadment of Respondent no.4/ Society through the Secretary, could not have been permitted.
As noted above, the appellant herein is a member of the Society, no notice has been issued by the learned Single Judge to the Society or its office bearers to bring their stand with regard to the appointment of the writ petitioner as Secretary of the Society.
It is argued by Sri Radha Kant Ojha, learned Senior Advocate, assisted by Sri Dinesh Tiwari, learned counsel for the appellant that the Managing Committee of the Society is defunct since the year 2003-04 and as such there was no question of appointment of the writ petitioner as Secretary of the Society in the year 2009. The minutes of the meeting of the Committee of Management of the Society dated 18.07.2009 which is appended as Annexure-7 to the writ petition is an outcome of fraud committed on the part of the writ petitioner.
Be that as it may, having noted the above that the issue with regard to the validity of appointment of the writ petitioner to the post of Secretary of the Cooperative Society is required to be determined to decide the claim of the petitioner about jurisdiction of the Joint Commissioner and Joint Registrar, Cooperative, Agra Division, Agra, we are of the considered opinion that continuance of the petitioner as Secretary of the Society under the interim order dated 21.02.2023 is wholly uncalled for. The effect of the interim order dated 21.02.2023 would be that the petitioner would be allowed to manage the affairs of the Society when his initial appointment itself is under scrutiny.
For the aforesaid, while modifying the order dated 21.02.2023 to the extent of quashing of the interim protection granted to the writ petitioner staying the effect and operation of the order dated 21.02.2023, we dispose off the present appeal with the request to the learned Single Judge to decide the writ petition considering the impleadment application filed by the appellant to determine the validity of the appointment of the writ petitioner as Secretary of the Society.
It goes without saying that independent consideration shall be given to the claim of the rival parties without being influenced by any of the observations made hereinabove.
Order Date :- 5.4.2023
N.S.Rathour
