Section 8 Arbitration Deadline Cannot Defeat a Statutory Challenge to Civil Court Jurisdiction in a Cooperative Society Dispute; Filing a Written Statement Does Not Cure a Civil Court’s Lack of Jurisdiction: Punjab and Haryana High Court

Case Name: Ramji Lal (Since Deceased) Through His Legal Representatives v. Roshan Lal and Others

Date of Judgment: 23 September 2026

Citation: CR-6101-2023.

Bench: Justice Deepak Gupta

Held: Where a dispute falls within Section 55 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, Section 82 may exclude the civil court’s jurisdiction. Filing a written statement or commencing evidence cannot confer jurisdiction on a court from which the statute has withheld it. The trial court must therefore examine the statutory bar instead of rejecting the request for reference solely by applying the timing requirement in Section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Summary: The plaintiff sought a declaration that he was entitled to be entered as a member holding one share in the Kotkapura Scheduled Caste Land Owning Society. The defendants sought reference of the dispute under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act. The trial court rejected their application because they had already filed a written statement and evidence had commenced. The High Court held that this treated the matter only as a belated request under Section 8 of the 1996 Act and left the central jurisdictional question unanswered. Since the claim concerned membership of a cooperative society, the trial court had to determine whether it fell within Section 55 of the 1961 Act and whether Section 82 consequently barred the civil suit. The High Court found the dispute prima facie within the statutory field but did not finally decide that question.

Decision: The revision petition was allowed and the trial court’s order was set aside. The application was restored for fresh consideration under Sections 55, 56 and 82 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act. The High Court did not order an immediate reference to arbitration or decide the plaintiff’s membership claim.