Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Rupantari Co-Operative Housing ... vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 8 September, 2022
13.
08-09-2022
debajyoti
(Ct. no.06)
MAT 1438 of 2022
+
IA NO:CAN/1/2022
Rupantari Co-operative Housing Society Limited & Anr.
Vs.
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Krishnendu Banerjee,
Mr. Debasish Kundu
... For the Appellants.
Mr. Pradip Kumar Roy,
Mr. Joydeep Roy,
Mr. Ankit Sureka
... For the State.
Mr. D. K. Sengupta,
Ms. Sweta Saha
... For Respondent Nos.3, 5 & 6.
Affidavit-of-Service filed in Court today be taken
on record.
By consent of the parties, the appeal and the
application are taken up together for hearing.
This appeal is directed against a judgment and
order dated August 10, 2022, whereby the appellants'
writ petition being WPA 5174 of 2020 was disposed of.
The private respondent no.3 herein, who was
private respondent no.3 in the writ petition also,
wanted to become a member of the appellant Co-
operative Society. Upon his application to the Society
made sometime in September 2019, remaining
unattended, he approached the then Deputy Registrar
of Co-operative Societies, Kolkata Municipal
Metropolitan Area Housing (KMAH). The said Deputy
Registrar passed an order dated December 12, 2019,
directing the Society to grant membership to the
respondent no.3. That order was assailed by the
Society before the learned Single Judge.
The learned Single Judge set aside the order of
the Deputy Registrar on various grounds and opined
that the issue needs to be revisited by the Joint
Registrar, KMAH. The operative portion of the order
impugned reads as follows:
" In view of the aforesaid
discussions, the order of the respondent
no.2 dated 24.12.2019 stands set aside
upon directing Joint Registrar, KMAH to
reconsider the issue relating to grant
of membership in favour of the
respondent no.3 after granting
opportunity of hearing to the petitioner
co-operative society and the respondent
no.3 within a period of eight weeks from
the date of communication of this order.
The decision to be taken by the Joint
Registrar, KMAH to be communicated to
the petitioner, co-operative society as
well as the respondent no.3 within a
period of one week thereafter. "
Although the writ petitioners/appellants herein
succeeded to the extent of getting the order of the
Deputy Registrar, KMAH, quashed, they are aggrieved
by the sending back of the matter to the Joint
Registrar, KMAH. The appellants contend that the
Joint Registrar does not have jurisdiction to consider
the complaint of the private respondent no.3.
Mr. Sengupta, learned counsel, appearing on
behalf of the private respondent, and Mr. Roy, learned
counsel, appearing on behalf of the State, submit that
pursuant to the order of the learned Single Judge, the
Joint Registrar has already held a hearing wherein the
appellants participated. Tomorrow (September 09,
2022), the second hearing is fixed. Mr. Roy further
submits that the Joint Registrar has jurisdiction to
entertain the complaint of the private respondent
under Section 100 of the West Bengal Cooperative
Societies Act, 2006. In reply, Mr. Banerjee, learned
counsel, appearing for the appellants, says that even if
the Joint Registrar has jurisdiction under Section 100
of the 2006 Act, the said section has not been properly
invoked.
If the Joint Registrar lacks jurisdiction, the mere
fact that the appellants participated in the proceedings
before him, will not confer jurisdiction on him. It is
trite law that parties by consent or agreement cannot
confer jurisdiction on an adjudicating authority, who
otherwise lacks jurisdiction. However, we are of the
opinion that all issues including whether or not the
Joint Registrar has jurisdiction or authority to
entertain and decide the complaint of the private
respondent, may be urged before the Joint Registrar.
The appellants will be at liberty to urge all points that
may be available to them in law, including lack of
authority of the Joint Registrar to entertain the
complaint of the private respondent no.3. The Joint
Registrar shall decide the point of
jurisdiction/authority as a preliminary issue before
proceeding with the merits of the case.
We have not gone into the merits of the disputes
between the parties. The Joint Registrar shall take a
decision in accordance with law observing the
principles of natural justice. The order impugned
stands modified to the aforesaid extent.
The appeal and the application are, accordingly,
disposed of.
Affidavits not having been called for, the
allegations in the stay petition shall be deemed not to
have been admitted.
All parties shall act on the server copies of this
order duly downloaded from the official website of this
Court.
Urgent photostat certified copies of this order, if
applied for, be supplied to the parties on compliance of
all necessary formalities.
(Apurba Sinha Ray, J.) (Arijit Banerjee, J.)
