Sankar Prasad Mitra, J. - (1.) This is an application under Article 227 of the Constitution. An Arbitrator (Shri B. Chartterjee, Inspector of Co-operative Societies, Santipur Development Block (Fulia), Nadia), appointed under the provisions of the Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1940, gave his judgment and award in Dispute Case No. 108N of 1969-70 on the 3rd January, 1971. The petitioner's case is that the Arbitrator issued a gist of the award on April 10, 1971. The petitioner received the said gist on the 16th April, 1971. Then the petitioner applied on the 23rd April, 1971, to the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Nadia, for a certified copy of the judgment and award. The Assistant Registrar by a letter dated the 24th August, 1971, requisitioned stamps for supply of the certified copy of the judgment and award. On the following day, namely, the 25th August, 1971, the petitioner deposited the requisite stamps for the certified copy. The petitioner received the certified copy on the 11th September, 1971. The petitioner sent the memorandum of appeal on the 26th September, 1971, to the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Nadia. The Puja Vacation intervened thereafter and continued till the 4th October, 1971. The Office of the Assistant Registrar received the memorandum of appeal on the 5th October, 1971.
(2.) Section 134 of the Bengal Cooperative Societies Act makes provisions for appeals. It runs thus: "134. (1) An appeal shall lie from an-order shown in column 2 of the Fourth Schedule to the authority shown in column 3 and column 4 thereof. (2) Save as provided in this Act, no appeal shall lie against any order, decision or award passed in accordance with this Act, and every such order, decision or award shall be final." Serial No. 7 in the Fourth Schedule to the Act provides for the appeal we are concerned with in this application. The period of limitation for this appeal is "one month from the date on which the order, decision or award was communicated to the person aggrieved."
(3.) In the instant case, in view of the relevant provisions in the Fourth Schedule, the appeal, on the facts stated by the petitioner, should have been filed within one month of the 16th April, 1971. But the petitioner did not send the memorandum of appeal till the 26th September, 1971. The questions that arise, are whether the petitioner is entitled to exclude the period taken in obtaining a certified copy of the award; and when the office of the Appellate Authority remained closed. If the petitioner had the right to claim exclusions of the said period, the petitioner's appeal was within time. If those rights did not exist, the appeal was barred by limitation.;