HYDERABAD: Any order passed by any court cannot be run contrary to the statute or the law made thereunder. The statute of the Cooperative Societies Act provides filing of an appeal within a period of 60 days from the date of receipt of the order. Even if the High Court directs the parties concerned to file an appeal within 15 days, the same cannot be contrary to a provision.
In the instant case, a cooperative society filed a petition before HC assailing the order of the Cooperative Tribunal. The respondent individuals, along with others, illegally got their names entered in the society without following the norms fixed by the government. A general body meeting was held to weed out illegal members and, accordingly, passed a resolution.
Aggrieved by the said resolution, respondents preferred an appeal before the tribunal which issued a notice to the society. Meanwhile, the society filed an application, raising a preliminary objection to the numbering of the appeal since the same was not filed within the period prescribed under the Society Act and Tribunal rules.
The tribunal rejected the objection of the society on the ground that the appeal was numbered in view of the earlier HC directions which asked the petitioners therein to file an appeal before the competent tribunal within 15 days from the date of receipt of a copy of its order. Since the appeal was filed within 15 days, the tribunal numbered the appeal and issued notice to respondent. Challenging it, the society moved the HC.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the tribunal erred in numbering the appeal without an application for condoning the delay. Though the HC directed them to file an appeal within 15 days, it, however, did not condone the delay in preferring the appeal.
Disputing with this argument, the counsel for respondents submitted that in view of the orders of the HC, the tribunal numbered the appeal and it cannot be said that the tribunal committed a mistake in numbering the appeal.
Justice C Praveen Kumar found that there was a delay in preferring the appeal and the same was filed without any application for condonation of the delay. “It is well-established principles of law that any order passed by any court cannot be run contrary to the statute or the law made thereunder. In the instant case, the statute provides filing of an appeal within a period of 60 days from the date of receipt of the order. Therefore, even if there is a direction from the High Court to the parties to file an appeal within 15 days, the same cannot be contrary to a provision. In fact, this court, while disposing of the petition, has neither condoned the delay nor directed the tribunal to number the appeal”, the judge observed.
Section 76(3) of the Cooperative Societies Act postulates that if an appeal is preferred after the expiry of 60 days, the tribunal may admit an appeal if it is satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the said period. Therefore, if an appeal is preferred beyond the period of 60 days, the same shall be accompanied by an application giving reasons as to why the appeal could not be filed within the prescribed period.
While setting aside the order under challenge, the judge granted liberty to the respondent individuals to present the appeal afresh along with an application seeking condonation of the delay in filing an appeal, in which event, the same shall be dealt with in accordance with law.