Contempt Of Cooperative Court or Cooperative Appellate Court Punishable
Legally Speaking - Property and Housing Laws | By Solicitor Gajanan Khergamker
— Ram S
According the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 and Rules 1961, if any person:
(a) When ordered by a Cooperative Court or the Cooperative Appellate Court to produce or deliver any document or to furnish information being legally bound to do so, intentionally omits to do so; or
(b) When required by any such court to bind himself by an oath or affirmation to state the truth, refuses to do so; or
(c) Being legally bound to state the truth on any subject to any such court, refuses to answer any such question that is demanded of him that touches the subject by the court; or
(d) Intentionally offers any insult or causes any interruption to any such court at any such stage of its judicial proceeding:
He shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to six months, or with a fine which may extend to Rs,1,000, or with both.
2) If any person refuses to sign any statement made by him, when required to do so by a Cooperative Court or the Cooperative Appellate Court, he shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three months, or with fine, which may extend to Rs.500, or with both.
3) If any offence under sub-section (1) and (2) is committed in the view or presence of a court concerned, the said court may, after recording the facts constituting the offence and the statement of the accused as provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, forward the case to a Magistrate having the jurisdiction to try the same, and may require security to be given or the appearance of the accused person before such Magistrate or, if sufficient security is not given, shall forward such person in custody to such Magistrate. The Magistrate to whom any such case is forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint against the accused person in the manner provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
4) If any person commits any act or publishes any writing which is calculated to improperly influence a Cooperative Court or the Cooperative Appellate Court to bring any such court or a member thereof into disrepute or contempt or to lower its or his authority, or to interfere with the lawful process of the said authorities, such person shall be deemed to be guilty of contempt of the said authorities.
5) In the case of contempt of itself, the Cooperative Appellate Court shall record the facts constituting such contempt, and make a report in that behalf to the High Court.
6) In the case of contempt of a Cooperative Court, the Cooperative Court shall record the facts of such contempt, and make a report in that behalf to the Cooperative Appellate Court, and thereupon, that court may, if it considers it expedient to do so, forward the report to the High Court.
7) When any intimation or report in respect of any contempt is received by the High Court under sub-section (5) and (6), the High Court shall deal with such contempt as if it were contempt of itself, and shall have and exercise in respect of it the same jurisdiction, powers and authority in accordance with the same procedure and practise as it has and exercises in respect of contempt of itself.
Can’t stop essential service without cause
Can a society withdraw power supply to a defaulter’s premises by itself?
— Saurin Ved
No person, who is a promoter or a management in-charge or connected with the management of a block or building of flats, whether as member of a managing committee, director, secretary or otherwise or is responsible for the maintenance thereof (hereinafter this section referred to as “the manager”), shall, without just and sufficient cause, either by himself or through any person, cut off, withhold, or in any manner curtail or reduce, any essential supply or service enjoyed by the person who has taken a flat (or by any person in occupation thereof through or under him) in respect of the flat taken or agreed to be taken by him. The person who has taken or agreed to take the flat or the occupier may, if the manager has contravened the provision of sub-section (1), make an application to the Court for a direction to restore such supply or service.
On enquiry, if the Court finds the application or the person through or under whom he is in occupation has been in enjoyment of the essential supply or service, and that it was cut off or withheld or curtailed or reduced by the manager without “just and sufficient cause,” the Court shall make an order directing the manager to restore such supply or service before a date to be specified in the order.
The manager who fails to restore the supply or service before the date so specified shall, for each day during which the default continues thereafter, be liable upon a further direction by the Court to that effect, to fine which may extend to one hundred rupees. Any manager who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine or with both. The offence under sub-section (6) shall be cognisable, and shall not be triable by any Court inferior to that of a (Metropolitan Magistrate, or a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class. For the purpose of this section, essential supply or service includes the supply of water, electricity, lights in passages and on staircases and lifts and conservancy or sanitary service.
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