Jinendra Lalchand Sontakke vs The Agricultural Produce Market ...
2021 Latest Caselaw 2952 Bom

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           IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                     NAGPUR BENCH AT NAGPUR
                  WRIT PETITION NO.3352 OF 2020
       Jinendra Lalchand Sontakke,
       Aged about 55 years, Occu: Service,
       Secretary (suspended), Agricultural Produce
       Market Committee, Gondpipri,
       District Chandrapur.                                             ...PETITIONER

                               ...V E R S U S...
 1) The Agricultural Produce Market
    Committee, Gondpipri, District Chandrapur,
    through its Chairman.

 2) The Divisional Joint Registrar,
      For Cooperative Societies,
      Nagpur Division, Nagpur,
      Office at Sitabuldi, Nagpur.                                  ...RESPONDENTS
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Shri Shantanu Ghate, Advocate for petitioner.
 Shri P.D. Meghe, Advocate for respondent no.1.
 Shri K.L. Dharmadhikari, A.G.P. for respondent no.2.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                CORAM:- V. M. DESHPANDE, J.

DATED :- 15th FEBRUARY, 2021.

ORAL JUDGMENT

Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Heard finally

by consent of the parties.

(2) Heard Shri Shantanu Ghate, learned counsel for the

petitioner, Shri P.D. Meghe, learned counsel for the respondent

no.1 and Shri K.L. Dharmadhikari, learned Assistant Government

Pleader for respondent no.2.

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 (3)            By this writ petition the petitioner is challenging the

order dated 07.07.2020 passed by the respondent no.2 -

Divisional Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Nagpur Division,

Nagpur.

(4) The petitioner has filed an appeal before the

respondent no.2 challenging his suspension. The matter was fixed

for hearing on 07.07.2020. The impugned order shows that the

petitioner/appellant was absent. The impugned order further

shows that he sent an adjournment application on WhatsApp of

Shri Joshi, a Stenographer of respondent no.2, stating therein that

due to rejection of e-pass by the authority he could not attend the

hearing on 07.07.2020. From the impugned order it appears that

the respondent no.1-A.P.M.C. was represented by its advocate,

Shri Khelkar, who filed a preliminary objection and prayed for

vacation of ad interim ex-parte stay order granted in favour of the

petitioner on 12.06.2020. The impugned order shows that looking

to the preliminary objection, the stay was vacated.

(5) It is not in dispute that the petitioner is resident of

Gondpipri, District Chandrapur. The Divisional Joint Registrar,

Cooperative Societies office is at Nagpur. It is also not disputed

that there was restriction for crossing the district borders

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on 07.07.2020 and for that a person was required to have an

e-pass. The impugned order itself shows that the petitioner

applied for e-pass, which was rejected and the said was intimated

by the petitioner by using the fastest mode of communication i.e.

WhatsApp to the Stenographer of the respondent no.2 - Authority

and as such the Authority was well aware that due to rejection of

e-pass the petitioner is unable to attend the proceedings. It is a

different matter whether the appeal filed on behalf of the

petitioner before the respondent no.2 was maintainable or not

maintainable, ex-parte stay was granted in favour of the petitioner

therefore it was obligatory on the part of the Authority to give

opportunity of hearing to the petitioner to meet the arguments

advanced on behalf of the counsel for the respondent-A.P.M.C.

that the appeal is not maintainable. The Authority ought to have

considered that the petitioner was unable to attend the

proceedings due to circumstances which were beyond his control.

(6) In that view of the matter, the writ petition is allowed.

The order dated 07.07.2020 passed by the respondent no.2 -

Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Nagpur in

Appeal No.2 of 2020 is hereby quashed and set aside.

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The respondent no.2 is directed to give opportunity of

hearing to the petitioner to point out his case regarding

maintainability of the appeal.

The parties are directed to appear before the

respondent no.2 - Divisional Joint Registrar, Cooperative

Societies, Nagpur on 26.02.2021. After the appearance, the

respondent no.2 shall decide the appeal after giving opportunity

of hearing to the petitioner as well as respondent no.1 within a

period of three months. Till the appeal is decided the parties to

maintain status quo.

Rule is made absolute in above terms. No order as to costs.

JUDGE Wagh