Section 145 to 148A

Section 145 - Prohibition of use of the words

(1) No person, other than a society registered, or deemed to be registered, under this Act, and a person or his successor in interest of any name or title under which he traded or carried on business at the date on which this Act comes into force, shall without the sanction of the date on which this Act comes into force, shall without the sanction of the State Government, function, trade or carry on business under any name or title of which the word "co-operative", or its equivalent in any Indian language, forms part.

(2) Every person contravening the provisions of the foregoing sub-section shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

Section 146 - Offences

It shall be a offence under this Act, if--

(a) any member of a society transfers any property or interest in property in contravention of sub-section (2) of section 47 or any person knowingly acquires, or abets in the acquisition of, such property;

(b) any employer every director, manager, secretary or other officer or agent acting on behalf of such employer who, without sufficient cause, fails to comply with sub-section (2) of section 49; or

(c) a committee of a society or an officer or member thereof fails to invest funds of such society in the manner required by section 70; or

(d) any person, collecting share money for a society in formation, does not within a reasonable period deposit the same in the State Co-operative Bank, or a Central Cooperative Bank, or an Urban Co-operative Bank or a Postal Savings Bank; or

(e) any person, collecting the share money for a society in formation, makes use of the funds so raised for conducting any business or trading in the name of society to be registered or otherwise; or

¹ (e-1) [any person, who collects share money or any other sum by misrepresentation to the members or prospective members in the name of the society to be registered, or after registration of a society by such misrepresentation, or otherwise; or

(e-2) any person, knowingly gives a false certificate in whatever form showing that a person is or is not a "defaulter" within the meaning he of that expression in the Explanation to clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 73-FF; or.]

(f) a committee of a society, or an officer or member thereof, fails to comply with the provisions of sub-sections (2), (3) or (4) of section 75; or

(g) any officer or member of a society who is in possession of information, books and records, fails to furnish such information or produce books and papers, or give assistance to a person appointed or authorised by the State Government or the Registrar under section 78, 81, 84, 94 or 103; or

(h) any officer of a society fails to hand over the custody of books, records, cash, security and other property belonging to the society of which he is an officer, to a person appointed under section 78 or 103; or

(i) a committee of a society with a working capital of fifty thousand rupees or more, or any officer or a member thereof, fails without any reasonable excuse to give any notice, send any return or document, do or allow to be done anything which the committee, officer or member is by this Act required to give, send, do or allow to be done or comply with orders made under section 79; or

(j) a committee of a society or an officer or member thereof wilfully neglects or refuses to do any act, or to furnish any information required for the purposes of this Act by the Registrar, or other person duly authorised by him in writing in this behalf; or

(k) a committee of a society, or an officer or member thereof, wilfully makes a false return, or furnishes false information, or fails to maintain proper accounts; or

(l) any officer, member agent or servant of a society fails to comply with the requirements of sub-section (4) of section 81; or

(m) any officer or a member of a society wilfully fails to comply with any decision, award or order passed under section ² [96]; or

(n) a member of a society fraudulently disposes of property over which the society has a prior claim, or a member or officer or employee or any person disposes of hi s property by sale, transfer, mortgage, gift or otherwise, with the fraudulent intention of evading the dues of the society; or

(o) any officer of a society wilfully recommends or sanctions for hi s own personal use or benefit or for the use or benefit of a person in whom he is interested, a loan in the name of any other person; or

(p) any officer or member of a society destroys, mutilates, tampers with, or otherwise alters, falsifies or secrets or is privy to the destruction, multilation, alteration, falsification or secreting of any books, papers or securities or makes, or is privy to the making of any false or fraudulent entry in any register, book of account or document belonging to the society; or

(q) any officer or member of a society or any person does any act declared by the rules to be an offence.

Explanation.--For the purpose of this section, an officer or a member referred to in the section shall include past officer and past member, as the case may be.

Footnote:
1. These clauses were inserted by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 59.
2. These figures were substituted for the figures " 93 " by Mah. 33 of 1963, s. 28

Section 147 - Punishments for offences under section 146

Every society, officer or past officer, member or past member, employee or past employee of a society, or any other person, who commits an offence under section 146 shall, on conviction, be punished,--

(a) if it is an offence under clause (a) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both:

(b) if it is an offence under clause (b) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ¹ three years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both;

(d) if it is an offence under clause (e) of that section, with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees;

(e) if it is an offence under clause (e) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both;

² [(e-1) if it is an offence under clause (e-1) of that section, with imprisonment of a term which may be extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both;

(e-2) if it is an offence under clause (e-2) of that section, with imprisonment of a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both;].

(f) if it is an offence under clause (f) of that section, with fine which may extend to two hundred an fifty rupees;

(g) if it is an offence under clause (g) of that section, with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees;

(h) if it is an offence under clause (h) of that section, with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees;

(i) if it is an offence under clause (i) of that section, with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees;

(j) if it is an offence under clause (j) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both;

(k) if it is an offence under clause (k) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both;

(l) if it is an offence under clause (l) of that section, with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees;

(m) if it is an offence under clause (m) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both;

(n) if it is an offence under clause (n) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both;

(p) if it is an offence under clause (p) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both;

(q) if it is an offence under clause (q) of that section, with fine which may extend to two hundred and fifty rupees.

Footnote:
1. These words were substituted for the words "one month" by Mah. 20, of 1986, s.60(a).
2. These clauses inserted by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 60(b).

Section 148 - Cognizance of offences

(1) No court inferior to that of a ¹ [Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class], shall try and offence under this Act.

² [* * * * * *]

³ (3) No prosecution under this Act shall be lodged, except with the previous sanction of the Registrar.

Footnote:
1. These words were substituted for the words "Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the First Class" by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 61(a).
2. Sub-section (2) was deleted, by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 61(b).
3. This sub-section was substituted by Mah. 7 of 1997, s. 14.

¹ Section 148A - Contempt of Co-operative Courts and of Co-operative Appellate Court

(1) If any person--

(a) when ordered by a Co-operative Court or the Co-operative Appellate Court to produce or deliver up any document or to furnish information, being legally bound so to do, 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;
(c) being legally bound to state the truth on any subject to any such Court, refuses to answer any question demanded of him touching such subject by the Court; or
(d) intentionally offers any insult or causes any interruption to any such Court at any stage of its judicial proceeding;
he shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

(2) If any person refuses to sign any statement made by him, when required to do so by a Co-operative Court or the Co-operative 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 five hundred rupees, or with both.

(3) If any offence under sub-section (1) or (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 ² [Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973], forward the case to a Magistrate having 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 case is so forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint against the accused person in the manner provided in the ² [Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973].

(4) If any person commits any act or publishes any writing which is calculated to improperly influence a Co-operative Court or the Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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 Co-operative Court, the Co-operative Court shall record the facts constituting 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) or (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 practice as it has and exercises in respect of contempt of itself.

Footnote:
1. Section 148 A was inserted by Mah. 3 of 1974, s. 37.
2. These words and figures were substituted for the words and figures "Code of Criminal procedure, 1898" by Mah. 20 of 1986, s. 62.

The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960

Chapter: XII - OFFENCES AND PENALTIES