Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 11: Accusing the top management of Citizen Co-operative Bank Ltd of misusing judicial process and preventing the statutory authority from taking lawful action, the Jammu and Kashmir Special Tribunal has imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the bank Chairman and its Managing Director.
Dismissing the revision petition by a ‘shareholder’ and upholding the impugned order for probe into irregularities ion CCBL, Member Special Tribunal, Shaleen Kabra, vacated the stay order and directed the bank authorities to present themselves before the Inquiry Officer on September 15, 2014 along with all the relevant records.
The revision petition was filed by one Naveen Sharma (a CCB shareholder) against the order of inquiry, passed by Registrar Co-operative Societies, J&K and praying for setting aside the same as well as restraining the Inquiry Officer from proceeding with the inquiry in violation of Co-operative Societies Act 1989.
As reported earlier, the Registrar had initiated an inquiry, vide order number 12-B&F of 2013, dated 23-07-2013, against alleged irregularities against the CCB management higher-ups, including the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Managing Director and others on the complaint of Varinder Singh Jamwal, one of the Directors of the bank. Vikas Sharma, District Audit Officer, Co-operative Societies Jammu, was appointed the Inquiry Officer to investigate the matter and submit a detailed report to the Registrar within days for further action.
However, the inquiry was stayed on a revision petition, filed by Naveen Sharma who claimed to be a shareholder of the bank stating that he was aggrieved of the impugned order, which according to him, interferes with the working of the bank and maligns its reputation.
After considering the arguments from both sides and examining the records, the Special Tribunal ruled that the Registrar was very much competent to hold or order an inquiry into the charges that have direct relationship with the working and financial condition of the bank.
Further, the Tribunal added, a Minister, who holds a public office, has every right to forward a complaint received by him with his observations demonstrating his concern.
Mr Kabra also raised a question over an individual shareholder filing such a revision.
“An individual shareholder has no locus standi to file a revision as only an aggrieved person can file application before any judicial forum and therefore it is the management that can file a revision on behalf of the bank,” he observed adding that if the bank management would have co-operated with the Inquiry Officer, the inquiry would have been concluded in a reasonable short period bringing out the truth.
Accusing the Chairperson and MD of using this revision to canvass their case by proxy, Mr Kabra pointed out that another application dated 7-8-2013 had been filed before the Principal District Judge Jammu by one Om Parkash claiming to be another shareholder for declaring the impugned order as null and void and the contents of that application are verbatim copy of the revision before the Tribunal.
“ It seems that the top management of the bank i. e. the Chairman and the MD are keen to scuttle the inquiry proceedings in the garb of petitions filed by individual shareholders possibly due to adverse interference likely to be drawn if they directly resist an inquiry into certain allegations, specially against their person,” the Tribunal said.
Dismissing the revision petition and ruling that a probe was necessary in the issue raised by a sitting Director of the bank, the Tribunal directed the Inquiry Officer to complete the inquiry within a week’s time and submit its report to the competent authority.
“Further, I am constrained to observe that the bank management along with the petitioner, has contrived filing of this petition, misused the judicial process, wasted precious time of the court and prevented the statutory authority from taking lawful action. Such conduct can not be allowed to go unpunished and I, therefore impose a fine of Rs 10,000 each on respondent number 1 (Chairperson) as well as respondent number 2 (Managing Director), to be paid by them in their personal capacity and also on the petitioner,” Mr Kabra said directing all the three to deposit the fine in the court of the Registrar Co-operative Societies, J&K within one month.
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