Frame proper guidelines to check frauds in coop societies: HC

The Madras High Court today suggested the Tamil Nadu government to frame proper guidelines to curb frauds by functionaries of cooperative housing societies such as non-remittance of money paid towards repayment of loans.
The suggestion was made by Justice R Mahadevan while taking note of flooding of petitions by members complaining about non-return of title deeds by such societies even after they discharged their loans.
The judge was dismissing a petition by president of the Madurai Forest Staff and Other Public Cooperative Housing Society Limited R A Balamurugan against an order disqualifying him for allegedly colluding with the secretary of the society and not remitting the payments made by a member.

He said if proper guidelines were not framed, the object of the society would be defeated.
In most of the cases, even according to the submission of the government advocate, the society functionaries had not properly remitted the money paid by the loanee and hence the officials could not return the property documents, he said.
"No one can deny the fact that having received back the loan amount due to the society, the officials were duty bound to return the documents. It is unfortunate that the members were forced to approach the court to get their documents through litigation for the reason that the office bearers had siphoned off the money paid by them," the judge said.

Cautioning that public would lose faith in the cooperative system and it would defeat the purpose of the cooperative movement, he said the government should also take appropriate departmental action and criminal proceedings against offenders so as to save the interests of the members of the society.