BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES

REDRESSAL COMMISSION, JALANDHAR.

 Complaint No.475 of 2020

      Date of Instt. 29.12.2020                   Date of Decision: 14.06.2023

Kundan Singh Age about 56 Years Son of Sh. Teja Singh, Resident of Village Ucha Tehsil and District Jalandhar.

..........Complainant

Versus

1.       The Registrar Co-operative Societies, Jalandhar.

2.       The Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Limited Ucha         Tehsil and District Jalandhar through its President.

3.       The Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Limited Ucha         Tehsil and District Jalandhar through its Vice President.

4.       The Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Limited Ucha         Tehsil and District Jalandhar through its Secretary Satpal S/o Sh.       Jit Ram Resident of Village Mohadipur Arian, Patara District        Jalandhar.

5.       The Manager, The Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society         Limited Ucha Tehsil and District Jalandhar

6.       The Accountant, The Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P       Society Limited Ucha Tehsil and District Jalandhar

7.       The Cashier, The Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society          Limited Ucha Tehsil and District Jalandhar

8.       Satpal S/o Sh. Jit Ram Resident of Village Mahidipur Arian, PS.       Patara, District Jalandhar, Secretary of The Ucha Co-operative     Agricultural M/P Society Limited Ucha Tehsil and District Jalandhar.

….….. Opposite Parties

Complaint Under the Consumer Protection Act.

Before:        Dr. Harveen Bhardwaj             (President)

                   Sh. Jaswant Singh Dhillon       (Member)   

Present:       None for Complainant.

                   OPs No.1 to 7 exparte.

                   Defence of OP No.8 Struck Off.

Order

Dr. Harveen Bhardwaj (President)

1.                The instant complaint has been filed by the complainant, wherein it is alleged that OPs are the members/office bearers of the co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Limited having its registered office at Village Ucha Tehsil and District Jalandhar and are fully responsible for all the acts and deeds done and performed in the Ucha Co-Operative Agricultural M/P Society Limited. The OP is running banking business for and on behalf of the Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Limited and complainant got opened a joint Saving Bank account alongwith his wife Ranjit Kaur bearing No.60037-MNM on 24.03.2000 in the above said co-operative society. The complainant has been running this account in opposite party bank since long and many transactions of debits and credits have been done by complainant in this saving account. The complainant had come to know from some reliable sources that embezzlement in the funds of the society has been committed by OPs and OPs are connived in the said embezzlement of funds. Complainant has also come to that a FIR has also been registered in this regard. Investigation is still going on as to whosoever is involved in the fraud. Police has arrested Satpal Secretary and some other persons. Due to the above mentioned fact complainant has apprehension that his amount lying in OP bank could be blocked by OP without any reason under the grab of embezzlement. Complainant had asked the OPs to release his total amount alongwith interest but to no effect. The complainant in order to get justice had moved a Legal Notice which was posted on 20.11.2020 to the OPs, but till date the complainant has not received any reply of the said Legal Notice. The OPs have adopted unfair trade practice and as such, necessity arose to file the present complaint with the prayer that the complaint of the complainant may be accepted and OPs be directed to pay Rs.2,50,000/- as Rs.2,39,799/- is lying credit balance in the account of the complainant.

2.                Notice of the complaint was sent to the OPs, but the same was not served upon OPs No.1 to 7 and then notice through publication in different-different newspapers was also sent, but the same could not be served upon them and ultimately, the OPs No.1 to 7 were proceeded against exparte, whereas OP No.8 appeared in person only once and he failed to file written statement despite number of opportunities and lastly, his defence was struck of, vide order dated 19.10.2021.

3.                In order to prove his respective version, the counsel for the complainant has produced on the file his respective evidence.

4.                We have gone through the case file as well as documents submitted by the counsel for the complainant very minutely as none has appeared on behalf of the complainant since last so many dates and OPs No.1 to 7 were already exparte and defence of OP No.8 was struck of.

5.                The complainant has alleged that the OPs are the members of the Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Ltd. and are running banking business for and on behalf of the Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Ltd. It has been alleged by the complainant that he had got opened a joint Saving Bank Account bearing No.60037-MNM on 24.03.2000 in the above said Co-operative Society. It has further been alleged by the complainant that there was some embezzlement in the funds of the society, which was committed by the OPs and now he has apprehension that his amount lying in the OP bank could be blocked by OP without any reason under the garb of embezzlement. He has proved on record the copy of the joint saving account Ex.C-1. He has further alleged that FIR has been registered in this regard and investigation is still going on. He has proved on record the copy of FIR Ex.C-6. Notice was also issued to the OP, which has been proved as Ex.C-2 and postal receipts Ex.C-3 to Ex.C-5.

6.                Perusal of the passbook Ex.C-1 shows that the account was opened by the complainant with the OP on 24.03.2020 and till 11.03.2020, the balance of Rs.2,39,799/- was there. Perusal of Ex.C-6 shows that the application was moved before the SSP on 16.04.2020 by Assistant Registrar Ucha Co-operative Society regarding the embezzlement and fraud committed by the Secretary Sh. Satpal and the interim report of the inspector was given on 20.03.2020, meaning thereby that there was an embezzlement of  10/15 Crores of amount in the society. The last transaction of the complainant was of 11.03.2020. Once, the complainant came to know the embezzlement, regarding which the investigation is still going on, he could have withdrawn the amount from the Co-operative Society. No document has been filed by the complainant to show that they were restrained from withdrawing the amount from the bank. He could have also withdrawn the amount of FDR from the bank or could have given application to the police regarding this, but nothing has been proved by the complainant nor the copy of the passbook bears the photo of the complainant regarding which there is a specific space on Ex.C-1. This causes doubt about the genuineness of the document. More so, the OP is a Co-operative Society and the same is registered under the provisions of the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, which is a special Act. Section-82 of the Punjab Co-operative Society, 1961 bars the jurisdiction of the Civil and Revenue Courts. The complainant has not submitted any law or provision to show that this Consumer Commission has jurisdiction to entertain and decide the disputes arising between the members or non-members, past members or the persons claiming through members of the Co-operative Societies. The complainant has not alleged or made a party to the bank in which the account is allegedly being deposited by the complainant nor any detail of the bank has been given by the complainant in his complaint. He has nowhere mentioned in the complaint that with whom the amount has been deposited. He has raised vague allegations that OP is running bank business for and on behalf of the Ucha Co-operative Agricultural M/P Society Ltd., but which of the OP is running a banking business, nothing has been explained or mentioned by the complainant in his complaint when there are seven OPs as per complaint and thus, the complainant has failed to prove the deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the OPs and the complaint of the complainant is without merits and the same is dismissed with no order of cost. Parties will bear their own costs. This complaint could not be decided within stipulated time frame due to rush of work.

7.                Copies of the order be supplied to the parties free of cost, as per Rules. File be indexed and consigned to the record room.

Dated                             Jaswant Singh Dhillon                    Dr. Harveen Bhardwaj     

14.06.2023                    Member                                President