Ponga Milk Producers … vs State Of Kerala on 24 October, 2007

       

  

  

 
 
  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

WP(C) No. 28492 of 2007(P)


1. PONGA MILK PRODUCERS CO-OPERATIVE
                      ...  Petitioner

                        Vs



1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE
                       ...       Respondent

2. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR,

3. SMT.K.SHEELA,

                For Petitioner  :SRI.KRB.KAIMAL (SR.)

                For Respondent  :SRI.P.N.MOHANAN

The Hon'ble MR. Justice THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN

 Dated :24/10/2007

 O R D E R
             THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN,J
            =======================
                   W.P.(C).No.28492 of 2007
              =======================
            Dated this the 24th day of October, 2007


                           JUDGMENT

Applying the decision of Prakasini v. Joint Registrar

(2006 (1) KLT 199) by the Division Bench of this Court in

Raveendran v. State of Kerala (2007 (3) KLT 558) affirming

all dispute arising in connection with the employment of the

officers and servants of the different classes of societies are the

matters that fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Co-

operative Arbitration Court, after coming into force of the

Amending Act, with effect from 2.1.2003. Therefore the Joint

Registrar is not the authority to decide on the complaint of the

third respondent. The third respondent or the employer society

would be deprived of further statutory remedies including before

the Co-operative Tribunal if the provisions of Section 69 are

bypassed. Not only that a full and final adjudication, as

intended by the Legislature by enacting Section 69, would stand

defeated.

2. In view of the above, no useful purpose would be

served by continuing Exts.P8 and P10 to be on record. Those

W.P.(C).No.28492/2007

:2:

decisions have to go at the earliest to pave way for consideration

of the third respondent’s complaint as a dispute, under Section

69.

3. In the result, Exts.P8 and P10 are quashed and it is

directed that the second respondent will transmit the complaint

of the third respondent, referred to in Ext.P8 to the competent

Co-operative Arbitration Court which shall be treated it as a

dispute under Section 69 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies

Act and decide upon it, in terms of that provision and the

relevant rules, in accordance with law, after affording sufficient

opportunity to the parties to place pleadings and evidence.

Such proceedings shall be finalised and orders issued within an

outer limit of four months since the third respondent’s complaint

was made way back to 09.02.2004. It is clarified that all other

questions are left out.

The writ petition is allowed as above.

THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN, JUDGE

dvs