1 2026:CGHC:25778 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPS No. 7482 of 2023 Ramsiya Shukla D/o Late Shri Chhathilal Shukla, Aged About 66 Years R/o Vill- Ameri, Post Mangla, Tah. Takhatpur, Dist. Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) ... Petitioner versus 1. State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Co-Operative Society Department, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar Nawa Raipur, Distt. Raipur (Chhattisgarh) 2 - Registrar, Co-Operative Society, Raipur, In Front Of Lalganga Shopping Mall, G.E. Road, Raipur, Tahsil And District Raipur (Chhattisgarh) 3 - Chief Executive Officer, District Co-Operative Central Bank Ltd., Bilaspur Tah. And Dist. Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) 4 - Branch Manager, District Co-Operative Agriculture And Rural Development Bank Ltd. Bilaspur, Dist. Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) 5 - Deputy Registrar, Co-Operative Society, Bilaspur, Dist. Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) 6 - Joint Registrar, Co-Operative Society, Raipur, In Front Of Lalganga Shopping Mall, G.E.Road, Raipur, Tahsil And Dist.- Raipur (Chhattisgarh) ... Respondents (Cause title, as taken from CIS) For Petitioner : Mr. H.V. Sharma, Advocate. For Respondent No. 1 For Respondent No. 3 : : Mr. Anish Tiwari, Dy. Govt. Advocate with Mr. Arpit Agrawal, Panel Lawyer. Mr. Pawan Kesharwani, Advocate. {Hon’ble Mr. Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi} Order on Board 23/06/2026 Heard. 2 1. This writ petition has been preferred by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the order dated 12.07.2023 passed by Chhatisgarh State Co-operative Tribunal, Bilspur (C.G.) in Appeal Case No. 23 of 2022 upholding the order dated 13.04.2022 passed by Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bilaspur Division, Bilaspur, who had affirmed the order dated 07.07.2021 passed by Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bilaspur Division, Bilaspur whereby all three authorities had rejected claim of the petitioner for providing him benefit of retiral dues i.e. “gratuity” and “leave encashment”. 2. Facts of the case, in brief, are that the petitioner was originally an employee of the Cooperative Society under the control of the respondent No. 3 – Chief Executive Officer, District Cooperative Central Bank, Bilaspur and was superannuated on 30.09.2014. After his retirement, the said Society declined to release the retiral dues to the petitioner, as the amount payable to him under the head of 'gratuity' and 'leave encashment' i.e., Rs. 3,77,908/- had been adjusted against the amount recoverable from him i.e., Rs.4,03,230.24/- and a balance amount of Rs. 25,322.24/- remains outstanding, therefore, the petitioner moved an application under Section 65 of the Chhattisgarh Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 {hereinafter referred to as “Societies Act, 1960”) before Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bilaspur claiming his retiral dues as well as challenging the legality of deduction made from the retiral dues of the petitioner. That application was rejected by the Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Bilaspur vide order dated 07.07.2021 (Annexure P-3) issuing certain directions. Against which, the appeal preferred by the petitioner before Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bilaspur was also dismissed vide order dated 13.4.2022 (Annexure P-2) and the same has also been affirmed by Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Tribunal, Bilaspur (C.G.) vide order impugned dated 12.07.2023 (Annexure P-1). Aforesaid orders were passed by the Authorities as well as the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Tribunal, Bilaspur after affording due opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, which give rise to file instant writ petition questioning the same. 3 3. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Tribunal, Bilaspur by its impugned order dated 12.07.2023 has held that since application filed by the petitioner for grant of gratuity has already been rejected by the Controlling Authority under The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 – cum- Assistant Labour Commissioner vide order dated 30.03.2016 passed in Gratuity Case No. 01/P.G.A./2015 (Annexure R-1), which is binding upon the petitioner, therefore, the appeal filed by the petitioner is not maintainalbe on the principle of res judicata. He further submits that aforesaid finding recorded by learned State Cooperative Tribunal,Bilapur is not sustainable in the eye of law, as issue of payment of gratuity payable to the employee of the Cooperative Society can be very well decided under the Chhattisgarh Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, hence, he prays that instant petition may be allowed and the relief sought for may be granted to the petitioner by quashing the order passed by Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Tribunal, Bilaspur and the order passed by the Deputy Registrar and Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bilaspur Division, Bilaspur. 4. Respondent No. 1 – State has filed its reply. Respondent No. 3 has also filed its separate reply. 5. Learned counsel appearing for the respondents would jointly submit that the petitioner was posted in different Societies including ‘Nariyara Society’, ‘Bambhu Society’ and ‘Ucchbhatti Society’ during his service tenure. It is submitted that when the petitioner was posted at Branch Beltara in the year 2011, no proposal was given by the ‘Salka Society’, ‘Uchchabhatti Society’ and ‘Bambhu Society’, despite that Rs. 80,000/- was withdrawn through debit slip from Uchchabhatti Society and Rs.1,04,000/- from the “Bambhu Society” on 11.06.2011. For the said withdrawal, receipt has been signed by the petitioner, but no expenditure sheet has been presented in this regard. The said amount was of the relevant expenditure of the Society, which has been messed up by the petitioner. In this way, a total amount of Rs.4,16,624/- was collected by petitioner in the Nariyara branch, Malkharoda. Vide 4 order dated 23.06.2007, the Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Raipur has passed an order to recover the amount of the said irregularity and directed for deduction of Rs. 3,000/- per month from the salary of the petitioner. Under which, a total sum of Rs.2,37,000/- was recovered from the monthly salary of the petitioner from Bus Stand Branch, Akaltara and Beltara. Balance amount of Rs.1,79,624.29/- was to be recovered from the Nariara Committee at the time of his retirement. Now , at present Rs.25,322.24/- is yet to be recovered from the petitioner. 6. Learned counsel for the respondents while referring to order dated 30.3.2016 (Annexure R-1) passed by Controlling Authority under the PG Act, 1972-cum- Assistant Labour Commissioner, Labour Court, Bilaspur would submit that since issue of payment of gratuity has already been decided by the Controlling Authority under PG Act, 1972 vide Annexure R-1, therefore, Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Tribunal, Bilaspur (C.G.) has not committed any error in dismissing the appeal filed by the petitioner by applying the principle of res judicata, which does not call for any interference of this Court. 7. Heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and material available on record. 8. The petitioner has filed an application under Section 65 of the Societies Act, 1960 before the Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bilaspur on 29.03.2017 for grant of retiral dues by calculating the reirement benefits whereas he was retired from his service after attaining the age of superannuation i.e. on 30.9.2014. Prior to filing aforesaid application, Chief Executive Officer, District Cooperative Central Bank Society, Bilaspur vide communication order dated 24.01.2017 (Annexure P-4) informed the petitioner that a total sum of Rs. 3,77,908/- had been adjusted against the amount recoverable from him due to financial irregularities i.e. Rs. 3,50,308/- from the gratuity amount and Rs. 27,600/- from the leave encashment amount payable to him, despite that, a balance amount of Rs. 25,322.24 yet remained outstanding; consequently, he was directed to deposit this amount within seven days. 5 9. When specific question was posed to the counsel for the petitioner that as to whether the petitioner had challenged the earlier order passed by the respondents- authorities for recovery of Rs.4,03,230.24/-, which is said to be amount embezzled and received by the petitioner, he submits that no such order was challenged by him. 10. It is also apt to be noted here that as per reply filed by respondent No. 3, Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies at Bilaspur had issued a recovery order against the petitioner on 23.06.2007 and directed the deduction of Rs. 3,000 per month from the petitioner's salary. Nothing has been brought by the petitioner on record to the effect that he had ever challenged recovery order, as such, those orders had attained finality and, therefore, application filed by the petitioner for grant of amount of gratuity before Controlling Authority under PG Act, 1972 – Assistant Labour Commissioner, was rejected vide order dated 30.03.2016 (Annexure R-1). 11. Perusal of record shows that petitioner had committed financial irregularities and messed up huge amount during his posting at various societies, which is said to be Rs. 4,16,624/- and the amount messed up by the petitioner had been recovered from his salary, amount of ‘gratuity’ and ‘leave encashment’ payable to him and those recovery orders had never been challenged by petitioner, therefore, on the basis of documents and pleading made by the parties brought on the record, in the considered opinion of this Court, declining to grant relief sought for by the petitioner by the Deputy Registrar, Joint Registrar and State Cooperative Tribunal are not found to be interfered with by this Court. 12. So far as recovery of Rs. 25,322.24 vide communication dated 24.01.2017 (Annexure P-4) from the petitioner is concerned, the petitioner was retired from services on 30.09.2014 after attaining the age of superannuation, thereafter, vide communication dated 24.01.2017, Chief Executive Officer, Bilaspur, respondent No. 3 herein, directed the petitioner to deposit aforesaid amount i.e. Rs. 25,322.24/- within seven day, which in the opinion of this Court, is not found to 6 be sustainable in law in light of the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in the matter of “State of Punjab and others etc. vs. Rafiq Masih (White Washer) etc.” reported in 2015 AIR SCW 501. Accordingly, part of the recovery order dated 24.01.2017 (Annexure P-4), by which an amount of Rs. 25,322.24 is directed to be recovered from the petitioner within seven days, deserves to be and is hereby quashed. 13. However, the relief sought for by the petitioner in paragraph 10.1 i.e. quashing of the order passed by the C.G. State Cooperative Tribunal in confirmity with the order passed by the Joint Registrar and Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bilaspur, is rejected, except the recovery of the amount of Rs. 25,322.24/- from the petitioner, as has been observed in paragraph 12 of this order. 14. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed to the extent indicated herein- above. 15. Pending interlocutory application (s), if any, stands disposed of. Sd/- (Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi) Judge amit/- AMIT KUMAR DUBEY Digitally signed by AMIT KUMAR DUBEY Date: 2026.06.29 17:36:47 +0530