Authority: High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh

Order Date: 23 October 2024

Case Overview

  • Petitioner: Gurdaspur Central Cooperative Bank Ltd.
  • Respondents: Bakshish Singh and others.
  • Multiple writ petitions (CWP‑10202 to CWP‑10333, 2024) were filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution seeking certiorari to quash:
  • Order dated 07‑12‑2023 (Annexure P‑14) issued by the Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Hoshiarpur, which accepted the appeal of the private respondents.
  • Order dated 22‑06‑2017 (Annexure P‑6) issued by respondent No.6, which was set aside.
  • The bank contended that these orders were illegal and should be cancelled.
  • Respondent No.7 (Deputy Registrar) submitted that the bank has a statutory remedy under Section 69 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, making the writ petition non‑maintainable.
  • State counsel highlighted Section 3(5) of the Act, arguing that the Deputy Registrar acted in his individual capacity and that a revision petition is permissible under the Act.

Final Outcome

  • The Court held that because the petitioner has an alternative statutory remedy under Section 69 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, the writ petition is not maintainable.
  • All the writ petitions are dismissed.
  • Liberty is granted to the petitioner to pursue the statutory revision remedy available under the Act.

Topics: Cooperative Banking, Judicial Review