Section 34 in Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969
34. Securing possession of records, etc.
(1)If the committee of a society is reconstituted at a general meeting of the society or the committee of a society is removed by the Registrar under section 32 or a new committee or administrator or administrators is or are appointed under section 33 or if the society is ordered to be wound up under section 71 and the outgoing members of the committee refuse to hand over charge of the records and property of the society to the new committee or administrator or administrators or the liquidator, as the case may be, or if an outgoing president or secretary who is the custodian of the records and property of a society refuses to hand over charge of the records and property of the society to his successor, the new committee or administrator or administrators or the liquidator, or the president or secretary may with the previous sanction of the Registrar apply to the Magistrate within whose jurisdiction the society functions, for securing the records and properties of the society.(2)On receipt of an application under sub-section (1), the Magistrate may, by a warrant, authorize any Police Officer, not below the rank of Sub-Inspector, to enter and search any place where the records and the property of the society are kept or are believed to be kept and to seize such records and property, and the records and property so seized shall be handed over to the new committee or administrator or administrators or the liquidator or the president or secretary, as the case may be.(3)Where the Registrar or any other officer not below the rank of Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies authorized by him in this behalf in the course of audit, inspection, inquiry or supervision is of opinion that there is room to suspect gross negligence of duties, misappropriation or misuse of funds of the society or irregularity in recording proceedings or keeping accounts or books or is satisfied that the records, registers or the account-books of a society are likely to be tampered with or destroyed and the funds and property of a society are likely to be misappropriated or misapplied, he shall have power to take possession of any or all of the books, registers, securities or documents, cash in hand or account-books of the society and remove such seized records and property and to deal with them in any manner as may be directed by the Registrar.(4)The Registrar or other officer seizing the records and property of a society under sub-section (3) shall prepare an inventory of the records and property seized in duplicate with his signature and require the officer, employee or member of the society from whose custody the records and property are seized to affix his signature in witness thereof and, if such officer or employee or member refuses to sign, then the Registrar or other officer seizing the records and property shall cause two or more persons to sign the inventory as witnesses to the correctness thereof. A copy of the inventory prepared under this section shall be delivered to the officer, employee or member of the society from whose custody the records and property were seized.
