Ram Singh vs Kisan Seva Sahkari Samiti Ltd. and Another

R.A. Sharma, J.—Service of the Appellant, who was an Accountant in a Cooperative Society, known as Kisan Sewa Sahkari Samiti Ltd., Nehru Nagar, Naidu, district Meerut (hereinafter referred to as the Society), was terminated by an order passed by the Society at Annexure II to the affidavit filed in support of the stay application in this appeal. Being aggrieved, the Appellant filed a writ petition, which has been dismissed by a learned single Judge on the ground that against the impugned order writ petition is not maintainable. Feeling aggrieved by the order of the learned single Judge, the Appellant has filed this appeal.

We have heard Sri R. M. Pandey for the Appellant and Sri H. R. Misra for the Respondents.

The submission of Sri R. M. Pandey, learned Counsel for the Appellant is that as the conditions of service of the Appellant are governed by the statutory service Regulations, known as U.P. Co-operative Societies Employees Service Regulations, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations), the writ petition is maintainable. Mr. H. R. Misra has, on the other hand, submits that the Regulations are not applicable to the Appellant, because Appellant''s Society does not fall within the definition of ''Co-operative Society'' contained in Regulation 2(ix).

Section 120 of the U.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1965 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) empowers the Registrar to specify qualifications for appointment of Secretary, Manager, Accountant or any other Officer to be paid or remunerated by the Society and if any person, who does not possess the prescribed qualification, is appointed, the Registrar can remove him from service. Section 120 is reproduced below:

Qualifications for appointment, as Secretary, Manager, etc, of Co-operative Societies.--

(1) No person shall be appointed by a Co-operative Society as Secretary. Manager, Accountant or any other Officer to be paid or remunerated by the Society unless he possesses such qualifications and furnishes such security, if any, as may be specified by the Registrar from time to time in respect of any Co-operative Society or class of societies.

(2) Any person appointed in contravention of the provisions contained in Sub-section (1) shall be liable to removal from his office by the Registrar.

Under Section 121, the Registrar has been given the power to frame regulations to regulate the emoluments and other conditions of service including disciplinary control of the employees in a Co-operative Society or a class of cooperative societies. Section 121 is as under:

Power of Registrar to determine terms of employment of society.--

(1) The Registrar may, from time to time, frame regulation to regulate the emoluments and other conditions of service including the disciplinary control of employee in a Co-operative Society or a class of co-operative societies and any society to which such terms are applicable, shall comply with those regulations and with any orders of the Registrar, issued to secure such compliance.

(2) The Regulations framed under Sub-section (1) shall be published in the Gazette and take effect from the date of such publication.

The State Government has the power u/s 122 to constitute an authority or authorities for recruitment, training and disciplinary control of the employees of a Co-operative Society or a class of co-operative societies.

The Regulations mentioned hereinbefore have been framed, which are applicable to the employees of the Co-operative Society as defined under Regulation 2 (ix). Regulation 2 (ix) is as follows:

2 (ix) : Co-operative Society means a Co-operative Society placed under the purview of the Board by Government Notification No. 366-C/XI1-C-3-36-71, dated March 4, 1972, as amended from time to time by notification issued u/s 122 of the Act read with Rule 389 (a) of the Rules.

Only such societies, which are placed under the purview of U.P. Cooperative Institutional Service Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) constituted by notification dated March 4, 1972 as amended from time to time u/s 122 of the Act, can be covered by the said definition. The notification dated March 4, 1972 as amended by notification dated February 7, 1973, issued u/s 122 of the Act, constituting the Board is reproduced below:

In pursuance of the provisions of Sub-section (1) of Section 122 of the Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1965 (U.P. Act No. XI of 1966), read with Rule 389A of the U.P. Co-operative Societies Rules, 1968, the Governor is pleased to constitute following authority known as the U.P. Cooperative Institutional Service Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board), for the recruitment, training and disciplinary control of the employees of the Apex Level Societies, Central or Primary Societies (excluding the Cooperative Cane Development Unions which include the U.P. Co-operative Cane Unions Federation Ltd., Lucknow) whose area of operation extends to more than one District or State, District or Central Co-operative Banks, District Co-operative Federations, Co-operative Milk Unions including Kanpur Co-operative Milk Board, Co-operative Cane Sugar Factories, Cooperative Textile Mills and U.P. Co-operative Housing Federation.

The society of which the Appellant was the Accountant is a Primary Society whose area of operation does not extend to more than one District or State and it is admitted to the learned Counsel for the parties that it is confined to a part of a district. That being the position, the society is not a Co-operative Society within the meaning contained in Regulation 2 (ix) and, therefore, the Regulations cannot apply to it and its employees. The conditions of service of the Appellant are, therefore, not governed by any statutory rules or Regulation. No such rule/Regulation has been placed before us by the learned Counsel for the parties. The Appellant, therefore, cannot maintain the writ petition against the impugned order, and no exception can be taken to the judgment of the learned single Judge. A Division Bench of this Court in Surendra Pratap Singh v. Registrar Co-operative Societies 1986 ALJ 70, has also held that to the employees of a Co-operative Society, which is not covered by the definition of "Co-operative Society" contained in Regulation 2 (ix), the Regulations are not applicable, with the result no writ petition can lie against the order of a Cooperative Society, which is nothing but a private body.

The society is neither the ''State'' within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India nor is it an instrumentality of the Government. In this connection, reference may be made to Ram Lakhan Pathak v. District Assistant Registrar Cooperative Societies 1996 (1) AWC 20 : 1996 (1) ESC 32 and Smt. Laxmi Singh v. State of U.P. and Anr. Writ Petition No. 20042 of 1987, decided on 16.1.1997.

The Appellant cannot get any benefit of Section 120 of the Act. This section merely empowers the Registrar to lay down the qualification for appointment of the employees of the Co-operative Societies. By laying down the qualifications, the Registrar does not become the appointing authority of the employees of the Co-operative Society. Society continues to be the appointing authority of its employees and it derives its power to appoint not from Section 120 but from its own non-statutory bye-laws/rules unless it is a society covered by the definition of "Co-operative Society" contained in Regulation 2 (ix),

Learned Counsel for the Appellant has in the end prayed for permission to approach the appropriate forum for redressal of the grievances of the Appellant. He may do so, if so advised. We, however, express no opinion about the same.

This appeal lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed. In view of the facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs.