POSTAL CO OPERATIVE HOUSE CONSTRUCTION SOCIETY LTD Vs. REGISTRAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two writ applications filed by the postal Co-operative House Construction Society Ltd., here in after called the Society, have been heard together, as the facts are similar and the points involved in them are identical. The Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bihar, and the Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies (Credit), Bihar, Patna, are respectively respondents 1 and 2. Shri Bhanu Prakash is respondent 3. In C. W. J. C. 500 of 1970 and Shri Baleshwer Prasad Sinha is respondent No. 3 in the other writ application, namely, C. W. J. C. 518 of 1970. Although the history of their entering into the service is slightly different, it is undisputed that both, at the relevant time, have been employees of the office of the Postmaster-General, Bihar Circle, at Patna. I shall, therefore, proceed to state the relevant facts from C. W. J. C. 500 of 1970 and discuss the points raised with reference to those facts. The facts and points, as stated above, are almost identical in the two cases.

(2.) The petitioner's case in this writ application is that it is a society constituted and incorporated under the Bihar and Orissa Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 (Act VI of 1939) hereinafter called the Act. In accordance with the Bihar and Orissa Co-operative Societies Rules, 1959 framed under the Act, Bye-Laws were also framed and registered. A copy of the Bye-Laws is Annexure 1 to the writ application. The management of the affairs of the Society vests under the said Bye-Laws in the Board of Directors constituted of eleven members two of whom are to be nominated by the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bihar and nine are to be elected by the whole body of share-holders from amongst them. The Board of Directors are authorised to make subsidiary rules for the conduct of the business of the Society consistent with the Act, the Rules and the Bye-Laws. The Society made representation to the Government of Bihar for acquisition of the land for the purpose of the Society and the State Government were pleased to acquire lands on its behalf and gave possession thereof to the Society in the year 1958. A substantial loan for the purpose was also granted to the Society by the Government for the construction of houses under the Low Income group Housing Scheme.

(3.) The petitioner's case further is that respondent 3 is not a Post Office' employee. He filed an application which was not in a prescribed form before the Society with the object of securing for himself the allotment of a house constructed by the Society and deposited Rs. 3,000/- with the Society, which was kept in suspense account. This was in pursuance of a resolution of the Board of Directors passed in their meeting held on the 28th November, 1957, which was to the effect that for the purpose of allotment of certain plots for houses there would be three categories of persons to whom the benefit would be extended. Although a copy of this resolution is not an annexure to the writ application, it is annexure C-3 to the counter-affidavit of respondent 8. I would do better to refer to the relevant term of this resolution at this very stage. It reads as follows: