Authority: High Court at Calcutta, Civil Appellate Jurisdiction

Order Date: 12 June 2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: Appellant Prabir Kumar Patra vs. Respondents Sri Ranjan Dasgupta & Ors.; the dispute involves the Airport Authority Employees Cooperative Housing Society Limited.
  • Background: The original writ petition challenged the society’s insistence on payment of penal interest and sought possession of flats. An order dated 28 August 2017 restrained the society from demanding penalty and directed possession of the flats to the writ petitioners.
  • Regulatory Context: The Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, in an order dated 8 February 2017, directed that no penal interest could be charged on dues and that the society must amend its bye‑laws to comply with the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 2006 and Rules, 2011. The Registrar noted that cooperative housing societies are non‑profit and that existing bye‑law provisions for penal interest contradicted the Act.
  • Bye‑law Clause 82: The society’s bye‑law clause 82 states: “A member in arrear after thirty days from the date of notice shall pay interest at two paise per rupee per month on the outstanding.”
  • Subsequent Orders: A coordinate Bench order dated 6 December 2017 required the society to complete unfinished work on the flats, subject to payment by the respondents as per Clause 82. The appeal (MAT 1700 of 2017) was disposed of by another coordinate Bench on 19 September 2025.
  • Developments Before This Order: Counsel for the Society’s Secretary indicated steps were being taken to dispense with the penal‑interest claim and that two flats had already been registered in the respondents’ names. No instruction on whether the bye‑laws had been amended was provided. The court noted that the appellant sought to represent other members who had paid penal interest, but there was doubt about his standing.
  • Application for Leave to Appeal: The appellant filed an application seeking leave to prefer the appeal. The coordinate Bench regularised the application but did not discuss or decide the appellant’s grievance.

Final Outcome

  • The Division Bench, comprising Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta, disposed of the appeal and the connected application, holding that the coordinate Bench order is final and cannot be further challenged under the principles of constructive res judicata and issue estoppel.
  • The court barred any further challenge to the Single Judge’s order and directed that any other grievance against the society or the respondents must be raised separately in accordance with law.
  • An order was made that an urgent photostat certified copy of the judgment, if applied for, be provided to the parties upon the usual undertakings.

Topics: Cooperative Housing, Penal Interest, Judicial Res Judicata