AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally with the consent of learned counsel appearing for the parties.
By way of this Writ Petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioners seek to invoke the extraordinary/supervisory jurisdiction of this Court to quash and set aside the judgment and order dated 15.03.2024 passed by the Hon'ble Minister of Co-operation, State of Maharashtra (Respondent No. 1), in Revision Application No.207 of 2021.
The factual matrix giving rise to the present proceeding, briefly stated, is as follows:
The respondent No. 9 is a Union/Federation of Labour Co-operative Societies in Gondia District, acting as a nodal agency through which work is distributed to registered societies. As per the Circular dated 06.12.2008 issued by the Commissioner of Co-operatives, the Authority to approve the registration of new labour co-operative societies vests with respondent No.2/Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Nagpur.
It is a matter of record that the petitioners had earlier approached the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.23533 of 2019. By an order dated 04.10.2019, the Hon'ble Supreme Court permitted the petitioners to submit fresh applications for registration in accordance with the law within four weeks. Pursuant thereto, proposals were submitted and in the meetings of Scrutiny Committee which are held on 22.01.2020, 15.07.2020 and 04.08.2020 under the chairmanship of respondent No.2, the proposals of the petitioner Societies were duly approved. Consequently, vide Resolution/communication dated 15.07.2020, respondent No.2 informed Respondent No.4 (District Deputy Registrar, Gondia) that the petitioners fulfilled the requisite criteria as per the 2008 Circular. Registration was ultimately granted to the petitioner Societies in the year 2022.
Being aggrieved by the approval of the petitioners' registration, respondent No.9 preferred Revision Application No.207 of 2021 before the Hon'ble Minister of Co-operation under Section 154 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 ("the Act"). By the impugned order dated 15.03.2024, the Hon'ble Minister allowed the Revision, set aside the registration, and remanded the matter back to the respondent No. 2 with a direction to hear the matter afresh in light of a subsequent Circular dated 02.02.2024. Hence, the present Petition.
I have heard Mr. P.S. Tidke, learned counsel for the petitioners, Mrs. M.S. Naik, learned Assistant Government Pleader for respondent Nos.1 to 5, 7 and 8 and Mr. O.A. Ghare, learned counsel for the respondent No.9. With their assistance, I have perused the material placed on record.
Learned counsel for the petitioners has assailed the impugned order on several substantive grounds. Firstly, it is submitted that the Revision was hopelessly barred by limitation. The Scrutiny Committee passed the Resolution on 15.07.2020, whereas the Revision was filed on 24.06.2021. There was an inordinate delay of over 11 months, and the Hon'ble Minister entertained the Revision without there being any formal condonation of delay, which is in the teeth of Section 154(3) of the Act. Secondly, it is urged that a Revision under Section 154 is maintainable only against a "decision or order," whereas respondent No. 9 had challenged a mere resolution of the Scrutiny Committee, making the Revision fundamentally non-maintainable. Thirdly, it is contended that the direction to adjudicate the proposals as per the latest Circular dated 02.02.2024 is arbitrary, as the petitioners' applications were filed pursuant to the Hon'ble Supreme Court's order dated 04.10.2019 and were rightly processed under the then prevailing Circular dated 06.12.2008. Lastly, relying upon the Commissioner of Co-operatives' letter dated 17.11.2017, it is submitted that No Objection Certificate (NOC) is required from the respondent No. 9/Federation for such registrations.
The issue involved in the present petition is no longer res integra. an identical issue, challenging the very same impugned order dated 15.03.2024 passed by the respondent No.1 in Revision Application No.207 of 2021, fell for consideration before this Court in the case of Om Shanti Majoor Kamgar Sahakari Sanstha Marya v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. (Writ Petition No. 1990 of 2024 and connected matters).
In the said decision, while dealing with the exact factual matrix and the applicability of the subsequent circular dated 02.02.2024, this Court in Paragraph Nos.21,22 and 23 categorically observed as under :
"21.Now question is whether circular of 2024 can be made applicable in the case of the petitioners. If order of Hon'ble Apex Court dated 29/08/2016, is considered, the Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies were directed to consider the applications that may be filed by the Societies in accordance with law, keeping in view, the circular dated 06/12/2008... Admittedly, at the time of grant of registration circular dated 02/02/2024 was not at all in existence. Moreover, there is no clause in the said circular having its retrospective effects."
"22.... Of the various rules guiding how a legislation has to be interpreted, one established rule is that unless a contrary intention appears, a legislation is presumed not to be intended to have a retrospective operation. The idea behind the rule is that a current law should govern current activities. Law passed today cannot apply to the events of the past... Thus, legislations which modified accrued rights or which impose obligations or impose new duties or attach a new disability have to be treated as prospective unless the legislative intent is clearly to give the enactment a retrospective effect..."
"23....On the day when such decision was taken by the Divisional Scrutiny Committee the only circular dated 06/12/2008 was in existence issued by Commissioner of Co-operation, Registrar/Nibandhak, Pune. Accordingly, the daily wages of Rs.145/- was considered and on the basis of that all calculations were carried out. It also appears that on the basis of the same, Assistant Registrar Co-operative Societies issued certificate on 02/03/2020."
Concluding on the illegality of applying the new circular to already processed applications, the Court held in Paragraphs 26 and 29 :
"26....Thus, the decision is governed by circular dated 06/12/2008, modified by corrigendum on 20/06/2012, wherein, wage rate was fixed as Rs.145/-. As such, there was no any illegality in the registration of the Societies whose proposal were within time as prescribed by the Hon'ble Apex Court dated 04/10/2019..."
"29....the Society is registered one though its registration was cancelled by applying subsequent circulars which is not permissible. Thus, the impugned order is unsustainable... erroneous, perverse and contrary to law position which is liable to be quashed and set aside."
In view of the aforesaid judgment, we are in complete agreement with the view taken therein. The facts of the present case are squarely covered by the said decision. The Revisional Authority has committed a manifest error by giving retrospective effect to the Circular dated 02.02.2024 to cancel a registration that was validly granted under the then-prevailing policy of 2008, and that too on a time-barred revision.
Accordingly, I proceed to pass the following order :
O R D E R
Writ Petition is allowed.
The impugned order dated 15.03.2024, passed by respondent No.1, in Revision Application No.207/2021, is hereby quashed and set aside.
The decisions of the Divisional Scrutiny Committee, dated 22.01.2020, 15.07.2020 and 04.08.2020 and the registration certificate issued in favour of the petitioner Societies, are hereby restored.
At this stage, learned counsel for respondent No.9 seeks relief of stay of operation of the present judgment for four weeks, so as to avail appropriate remedy.
The effect and operation of the present judgment is stayed for another four weeks. After four weeks the present order of stay shall stand vacated automatically.