SIND BALUCHISTAN PROVINCIAL CO-OPERATIVE BANK LIMITED, KARACHI AND Another vs DILAWAR KHAN AND Another

This appeal has been filed to question the order of Mr. A. G. Mohammadally, Additional District Judge, Karachi, dated the 20th of September 1967, by which he suspended the operation of his own order dated the 9th of September 1967, and issued an injunction against the present appel--lants restraining them from holding any election of the Directors of the Sind Baluchistan Provincial Co- operative Bank Limited.

2. The facts which form the background of this appeal, according to counsel for the appellants, are that Directors of appellant No. 1 are elected from the delegates nominated by various Co-operative Banks and Societies affiliated to appellant No. 1. Counsel says that the delegates who came from the Societies and Banks of the Tharparker District have been objecting to the elections of Directors.

Counsel has given the history from 1966. According to him, the election of the Board of Directors was to be held on the 11th of December 1966, and on the 10th of December 1966, those who claim to be the delegates from Tharparker District filed Suit No. 614 of 1966 and obtained an injunction against the holding of the election. Appellant No. I did not question that order by going in appeal, but somebody else who was also a delegate from some other place went in appeal bearing No. 5 of 1967. That appeal was dismissed as infructuous on the 15th of May 1967, because the date on which the election was to be held had already passed. Appellant No 1 then fixed another date for the election which was the 25th of August 1967. The present respondents from Tharparker therefore, filed another suit being Suit No. 1564 of 1967 and obtained an injunction to stop the election. An injunction was issued on their application against which the appellants went in appeal. It was Appeal No. 147 of 1967. An order was made in appeal suspending the order of injunction which was issued by the trial Court. That order is dated the 9th of September 1967.

3. Since, the previous date had passed, appellant No. I had fixed the 20th of September 1967, for holding the election, the delegates from Tharparker therefore, filed another suit being Suit No. 1774 of 1967 and applied for an order of injunction which application was dismissed on the 8th of September 1967.

4. Having failed in that attempt, an application was made in Appeal No. 147 of 1967 under Order XXXIX, rules 3 and 4 and section 151, C. P. C. For getting the order of the 9th of September 1967, suspended and for obtaining an injunction against appellant No. I to prevent it from holding the election on the 20th of September 1967. That application was accepted on the 20th of September 1967, by the Additional District Judge, Karachi, as mentioned above. This appeal has been filed to question that order.

5. Counsel for the appellants says that the Additional District Judge, Karachi not only suspended the order of the 9th of September 1967 which was itself an order suspending the operation of the order of injunction issued by the trial Court but also issued an order of injunction himself against the present appellants although the Appeal No. 147 of 1967 was filed by the same parties against whom the injunction was issued. In addition to this, the Additional District Judge exercised jurisdiction for issuing injunction although one of the grounds of appeal of the present appellants in Appeal No. 147 of 1967 was that civil Courts had no jurisdiction to entertain such suits.

6. In support of the latter contention, counsel has referred to Mian Mubarak Din v. Registrar, Co- operative Society, West Pakistan (PLD 1957 Lab. 1013). It was held in that judgment that a dispute about elections touches the business of a Co-operative Society which means in other words that section 54 of the Co-operative A Societies Act is applicable to such disputes. This being so, the Registrar has the jurisdiction to deal with those matters and jurisdiction of the Civil Courts is barred.

7. In view of the above situation. I accept this appeal, set aside the order of the learned Additional.

District Judge, Karachi, dated the 20th of September 1967 and restore the order of the Additional District Judge, Karachi, dated the 9th, of September 1967.