HC reserves orders on petiton by agriculturist

: Madras High Court today reserved its order on a petition by an agriculturist,who sought a direction to the registrar of Cooperative Societies to follow procedures contemplated under RBI's circular to all cooperative societies relating to demonetization and permit withdrawal of cash and exchange of old currency notes into new ones.
The court posted the matter to November 16 after hearing petitioner K Ramamurthy of Villupuram district and counsel for Registrar of Co-operative Societies and RBI.
The petitioner submitted he is a member of Gingee Primary Agricultural Co-operative Society in Villupuram district,which has more than 26 villages falling under its purview and 19,000 agriculturists as members. The society transacts business of Rs 25 lakh per day, he said.

Most agriculturists depend on this co-operative society for payment and withdrawals for their daily requirements.
He referred to the November 8 RBI order to all banks on demonetisation about withdrawal of the existing Rs 500 and 1,000 notes. In order to enable the public exchange existing currency notes, it had framed regulations.
As per the regulation, the public can exchange Rs 500 and 1000 notes up to Rs 4,000 and they can withdraw from their account over the counter a sum of Rs 10,000 per day subject to an over limit of Rs 20,000 a week till November 24, he added.

Being a society member he had approached it to withdraw Rs 10,000 from his account, but the staff had refused to give him the withdrawal slip or to pay the amount on the ground that the Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies had issued oral instructions not to disburse or receive any amount from the members until further orders.

When he approached the President of the society,it was revealed that no new currency notes were available and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies has not even allocated any new currency notes.
Also, the Joint Registrar of Co-operative societies had given a standing oral instruction on November 10 not to transact any business until further orders.

Therefore, no transaction was taking place in the Gingee Primary Agricultural Co-operative societies, putting its members into great difficulty, he said.
The Union government and RBI had made arrangements for disbursement of amounts for urgent needs of the public, but co-operative societies have not made any such arrangement to transact business among agriculturists, who were the backbone of the Indian economy, he added.