Telangana High Court

N. Krishna, vs A. Srinivas Goud, on 12 August, 2024

    THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE ALOK ARADHE
                                       AND
        THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE J.SREENIVAS RAO

                      Writ Appeal No.949 of 2024

JUDGMENT:

(Per the Hon'ble the Chief Justice Alok Aradhe)

Mr. C.H.Janardhan Reddy, learned counsel for the

appellants.

Mr. R.N.Hemendranath Reddy, learned Senior

Counsel appears for Mr. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, learned

counsel for respondent No.1.

Ms. B.Mohana Reddy, learned Government Pleader

for Cooperation Department appears for respondents

No.2 and 3.

Mr. E.Ramesh Chandra Goud, learned Government

Pleader for Excise Department appears for respondents

No.4 to 6.

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2. This intra court appeal is filed against order

dated 31.07.2024, passed by a learned Single Judge by

which the writ petition preferred by the appellants viz.,

W.P.No.13262 of 2024 was dismissed and the interim

order dated 23.04.2024, passed by respondent No.3-

Cooperative Tribunal at Hyderabad (hereinafter referred

to as 'the Tribunal') has been upheld.

3. Facts giving rise to filing of this appeal briefly stated

are that respondent No.4- District Prohibition and Excise

Officer, Medchal-Malkajgiri District (hereinafter referred

to as 'the District Prohibition & Excise Officer'), received

representation dated 25.11.2017 submitted by respondent

No.1 in which it was inter alia alleged that the appellants

along with respondents No.8 and 9 had furnished forged

documents to the District Prohibition & Excise Officer,

for their admission as members of respondent No.7- ::3::

Toddy Tappers Cooperative Society, Subhash Nagar

(hereinafter referred to as 'the TTCS Society') and got

admitted as members. The District Prohibition & Excise

Officer passed an order dated 20.03.2018 by which it was

held that the appellants and respondents No.8 and 9

belong to Gouda community and are residents of the local

area and possess all eligibility as per the criteria stipulated

under Section 19(1) of Telangana Cooperative Societies

Act, 1964 (for short 'the Act'). Accordingly, it was held

that the appellants as well as respondents No.8 and 9 are

eligible to be treated as the members of TTCS Society.

4. Respondent No.1 challenged the aforesaid order in a

writ petition viz., W.P.No.11370 of 2018. The aforesaid

writ petition was dismissed by an order dated 21.08.2023

inter alia on the ground that there is an alternative

efficacious remedy of filing an appeal before the ::4::

Cooperative Tribunal under Section 76 of the Act.

Respondent No.1 was, therefore, granted liberty to file an

appeal. In pursuance of the liberty, respondent No.1 filed

an appeal before the Tribunal. The Tribunal vide interim

order dated 23.04.2024 inter alia held that the appeal was

not barred by limitation in view of Section 14 of the

Limitation Act, 1963 (for short 'the Limitation Act'),

which provides for exclusion of time for bona fide

prosecution of a proceeding before the court. The

Tribunal further held that a case for issuance of interim

direction is made out and directed that the appellants as

well as respondents No.8 and 9 be not admitted as

members of the TTCS Society.

5. The aforesaid order was challenged by the appellants

in W.P.No.13262 of 2024. The learned Single Judge, by

the impugned order dated 31.07.2024, dismissed the writ ::5::

petition inter alia on the ground that respondent No.1 is

entitled to the benefit of Section 14 of the Limitation Act.

Thus, the appeal was held to be filed within limitation.

The Tribunal was directed to decide the appeal within a

period of three months. Hence, this appeal.

6. Learned Senior Counsel for the appellants submitted

that respondent No.1 has not filed an application under

Section 14 of the Limitation Act and therefore, the learned

Single Judge erred in holding that the appeal is filed within

limitation.

7. We have considered the submissions made by

learned counsel for the appellants and have perused the

record.

8. Section 14 of the Limitation Act affords protection

to the litigant, who has been prosecuting a proceeding ::6::

bona fide before the Court or Tribunal. Section 14 reads

as under:

"Section 14. Exclusion of time of proceeding bona fide in court without jurisdiction.-

(1) In computing the period of limitation for any suit the time during which the plaintiff has been prosecuting with due diligence another civil proceeding, whether in a court of first instance or of appeal or revision, against the defendant shall be excluded, where the proceeding relates to the same matter in issue and is prosecuted in good faith in a court which, from defect of jurisdiction or other cause of a like nature, is unable to entertain it.

(2) In computing the period of limitation for any application, the time during which the applicant has been prosecuting with due diligence another civil proceeding, whether in a court of first instance or of appeal or revision, against the same party for the same relief shall be excluded, where such ::7::

proceeding is prosecuted in good faith in a court which, from defect of jurisdiction or other cause of a like nature, is unable to entertain it.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in rule 2 of Order XXIII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), the provisions of sub-section (1) shall apply in relation to a fresh suit instituted on permission granted by the court under rule 1 of that Order, where such permission is granted on the ground that the first suit must fail by reason of a defect in the jurisdiction of the court or other cause of a like nature.

Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section,--

(a) in excluding the time during which a former civil proceeding was pending, the day on which that proceeding was instituted and the day on which it ended shall both be counted;

(b) a plaintiff or an applicant resisting an appeal shall be deemed to be prosecuting a proceeding;

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(c) misjoinder of parties or of causes of action shall be deemed to be a cause of a like nature with defect of jurisdiction."

9. Para 9 of the memo of appeal filed by respondent

No.1 before the Tribunal deals with limitation. Para 9

reads as under:

           "It      is   submitted     that    impugned
        proceedings       of    1st    respondent      in

Cr.No.E2/691/2017 is dated 20.03.2018 u/s.19(4) of TSCS Act and petitioner moved High Court in W.P.No.11370 of 2018 and the same was dismissed with a liberty to petitioner to avail remedy of appeal u/s.76 of Cooperative Societies Act and the copy of the order has been received by the petitioner on 12.10.2023.

As per Section 14 of Limitation Act the period spent before the High Court shall be excluded for the purpose of limitation and the present Appeal is being filed as per the direction of the High Court dated 21.08.2023.

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