Quick Summary: A court decision by Judge T. Madhavi Devi canceled previous rulings against a cooperative society’s former president, Raghav Rao, for alleged misuse of funds, because of issues with who had the right to investigate.
In 2018, an investigation was started into a cooperative society in Warangal Urban District, where Raghav Rao was accused of misusing over Rs. 2.5 crore. A specific amount of Rs. 9,18,500 was linked to him. A notice was sent, demanding he pay it back with interest.
"Raghav Rao was held responsible for Rs. 7,54,500 with interest at 15% per year."
Raghav Rao challenged the Cooperative Tribunal's decision, which supported the demand for repayment. He filed a petition, saying the investigation was not allowed because the powers were not properly given to the right person.
The main argument was about who had the right to start the investigation under the Telangana Cooperative Societies Act, 1964. Raghav Rao said that the Deputy Registrar didn’t have the authority to start the investigation under Section 51 of the Act.
"The power to investigate under Section 51 of the Act has not been given to the right person and therefore, it could have been ordered only by the Registrar."
The government admitted there was a typing mistake in giving the powers and corrected it in 2024. However, at the time of the investigation, the correct authority was not in place.
The court found the investigation and the demand for repayment were not valid due to the lack of proper authority at the time. It canceled the previous rulings, allowing for a new investigation.
"The investigation under Section 51 of the Act as well as the demand for repayment are canceled."
Both petitions, W.P.No.33253 of 2023 and W.P.No.31480 of 2024, were accepted, canceling the previous orders. The court allowed for a new investigation to be conducted according to the law.
