In Brief
A cooperative housing finance corporation challenged a Cooperative Court's jurisdiction to hear an employee's dismissal dispute. The Supreme Court held that service disputes between cooperative societies and their employees fall outside Section 91 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, which covers only disputes touching the constitution, elections, management, or business of the society. The Court clarified that 'officers' in Section 91 refers to elected committee members, not employees, and 'business' excludes employment matters. An employee unable to claim reinstatement can only seek declaration of wrongful termination and damages in the Civil Court. The appeal was allowed and the High Court's judgment was set aside.
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