- (1.) THE first petitioner is a society registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. It opened more than one account with the State Bank of India. Persons authorised by its previous governing body were operating the accounts.
(2.) AFTER formation of new governing body on August 1, 2010 such body submitted annual and other returns to the Registrar of Firms, Societies and Non-Trading Corporations, West Bengal on August 24, 2010. Persons authorised by it requested the bank to permit them to operate all the accounts of the society. The bank refused to permit them to operate as many as seven accounts. In response to repeated request letters of the society the bank wrote a letter dated October 27, 2010 advising the President of the new governing body of the society as follows: "1) Two of the previous signatories have disputed substitution of the new signatories. The documents produced by them bear enough evidence for dispute and requires to be examined by our law department. As per Banking Practice, previous signatories should have forwarded the signatures of the new signatories which has not happened in this case. 2) Please also appraise the Bank why new committee has attempted to change the signatories in Current Account maintained with our Branch without changing signatories in Cash Credit Loan Account maintained with our Dumkol Branch. We understand from the disputants that previous committee has issued some post dated cheques from our Current Account for repayment of Cash Credit Loan taken by the same society at our Dumkol Branch and the signatories will be different in two branches of same bank for the account of same society." There is nothing to show that the persons who were authorised by the previous governing body to operate the accounts with the bank obtained any order from any Court or authority entitling them to write to the bank that the persons authorised by the new governing body would not be entitled to operate the accounts of the society with the bank.
(3.) THOUGH in view of formation of the new governing body and compliance with the provisions of s.17 of the Act by it, in the absence of any order from any Court, forum or authority the bank was not supposed to entertain any objection of the persons who were operating the accounts under authority of the previous governing body, the bank entertained the objection and refused to permit the persons authorised by the new governing body to operate the accounts, and, as a result, the new governing body was compelled to take loan from bank for paying salary to staff and meeting day to day expense. In my opinion, the action of the bank is arbitrary and illegal. It could refuse to permit the persons authorised by the new governing body to operate the accounts only if any order of the Court restrained it from permitting them to operate the accounts of the society. It was also free to ascertain from the Registrar of Firms, Societies and Non-Trading Corporations, West Bengal whether the new governing body was entitled to function.;