Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Umesh Kumar Jadav vs The Alipurduar Co-Operative ... on 17 August, 2016
Author: Sambuddha Chakrabarti
Bench: Sambuddha Chakrabarti
1
.08.16
142
ab
W.P. 3940(W) of 2016
Umesh Kumar Jadav
-Vs-
The Alipurduar Co-operative Agriculture & Rural Development Bank Limited
& Ors.
Mr. Arnab Saha,
... for the petitioners
Mr. Tarun Roy,
Mr. Arnab Roy,
... for the respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 4
The petitioner is aggrieved by an order dated July 21, 2015 passed by the Chief Executive Officer, Alipurduar Co-operative Agriculture & Rural Development Bank Limited, i.e. the respondent No. 4 herein. The immediate occasion for passing the order was the application for appointment on compassionate ground of the petitioner after the death of his father who at the time of his death was under suspension.
The respondent No. 4 had recorded the views of the Board of Directors that the father of the petitioner was charged with certain financial irregularities for which both criminal as well as departmental proceeding had been initiated. It was also a consideration of the Board of Directors that the ex-employee had caused so much financial loss to the organization and brought so much disrepute to it. As such his heirs cannot be offered appointment on compassionate ground. The preliminary enquiry found him guilty, the authorities had placed him under suspension and during pendency of the disciplinary proceeding, he had expired. Therefore, according to the Board of Councillors, his 2 death cannot be said to be a death in harness. The petitioner submitted various things against the findings of the Board of Directors.
Section 102 of the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act provides for an arbitration before the Registrar for settlement if it arises out of various circumstances. The present case is covered by Section 102(1)(c) of the Act.
Mr. Saha, the learned advocate for the petitioner wanted to impress upon me that the writ petition is maintainable by virtue of an order of the Division Bench.
It is not necessary to go into that aspect. The question is not whether a writ petition lies, on the contrary the question is whether the Court shall admit a writ petition when the statute itself provides for an alternative remedy by way of referring the matter to the Registrar.
Mr. Saha strenuously argued that under the West Bengal Co-operative Rules, the appointment on compassionate ground as applicable to the employees of the State Government should also apply to the employees of the Co-operative Society. From this he wanted to show that the Board of Directors taking the decision impugned in the writ petition had violated the norms of appointment under such circumstances and proceeded on the basis of the collateral findings about the involvement of the father of the petitioner.
This Court declines to enter into this aspect of the case. It relates to the merit of the petitioner's case. The question is whether that merit shall be decided in a writ petition.
As mentioned earlier, when the statute provides an alternative remedy, the Court declines to entertain the writ petition without the petitioner's first exhausting the said remedy. That apart, the petitioner has not been able to show 3 for the violation of which of the rights of the petitioner or commitment of the wrong of the respondents, the writ petition must be entertainable despite the existence of an alternative remedy. In other words, this is not one such case where superseding the existence of alternative remedy, a writ petition may be entertained because of existence of certain circumstances.
In such view of it, I decline to entertain the writ petition without the petitioner's first exhausting the statutory remedy.
The writ petition is disposed of.
Since this writ petition is being disposed of without calling for an affidavit all allegations made in the writ petition are deemed to have been denied.
There shall be no order as to costs.
Urgent Photostat certified copy of the order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties at an early date.
(Dr. Sambuddha Chakrabarti,J)