55. Charge and set-off in respect of share or contribution or interest of members.—A multi-State
co-operative society shall have a charge on the share or contribution or interest in the capital and on the
deposits of a member or past or deceased member and on any dividend, bonus or profits payable to a
member or past member or the estate of a deceased member in respect of any debt due from such member
or past member or the estate of such deceased member to the society and may set-off any sum credited or
payable to a member or past member or the estate of deceased member in or towards payment of any such
debt.
56. Share of contribution or interest not liable to attachment.—(1) Subject to the provisions of
section 55, the share or contribution or interest of a member or past or deceased member in the capital of
a multi-State co-operative society shall not be liable to attachment or sale under any decree or order of
any court in respect of any debtor liability incurred by such member, and an official assignee or a receiver
under any law relating to insolvency shall not be entitled to, or have any claim on, such share or
contribution or interest.
(2) The reserve fund, or the bad debt reserves, or the provident fund of the employees, of a
multi-State co-operative society invested by such society in accordance with the provision of this Act and
the bye-laws shall not be liable to attachment under any decree or order of a court in respect of any debt
or liability incurred by the society.
57. Register of members.—Any register or list of members or shares kept by any multi-State
co-operative society shall be prima facie evidence of any of the following particulars entered therein,
namely:—
(a) the date on which any person entered in such register or list became a member; and
(b) the date on which any such person ceased to be a member.
58. Admissibility of copy of entry as evidence.—(1) A copy of any entry in a book of a multi-State
co-operative society regularly kept in the course of its business shall, if certified in such manner as may
be prescribed, be received in any suit or legal proceedings as prima facie evidence of the existence of
such entry and shall be admitted as evidence of the matters, transactions and accounts therein recorded in
every case where, and to the same extent, as the original entry itself if admissible.
(2) No officer of a multi-State co-operative society and no officer in whose office the books of a
multi-State co-operative society are deposited after liquidation shall, in any legal proceedings to which
the society or the liquidator is not a party, be compelled to produce any of the society’s books or
documents the contents of which can be proved under this section, or to appear as a witness to prove the
matters, transactions and accounts therein recorded, except under an order of a court or an arbitrator made
for a special cause.
59. Exemption from compulsory registration of instruments.—Nothing in clauses (b) and (c) of
sub-section (1) of section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908) shall apply to—
(a) any instrument relating to shares in a multi-State co-operative society notwithstanding that the
assets of the society consist in whole or in part of immovable property; or
(b) any debenture issued by any such society and not creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or
extinguishing any right, title or interest to or in immovable property, except in so far as it entitles the
holder thereof to the security afforded by a registered instrument whereby the society has mortgaged,
conveyed or otherwise transferred the whole or part of its immovable property or any interest therein
to trustees upon trust for the benefit of the holders of such debentures; or
(c) an endorsement upon transfer of any debenture issued by any such society.
60. Deduction from salary to meet multi-State co-operative society’ s claim in certain cases.—(1)
Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, a member of a multi-State
co-operative society may execute an agreement in favour of that society providing that his employer
disbursing his salary or wages shall be competent to deduct every month from the salary or wages payable
to him, such amount as may be specified in the agreement and to pay the amount so deducted to the
society in satisfaction of any debt or other demand the member owes to the society.
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(2) On the execution of such agreement, the employer disbursing the salary or wages of the members
shall, if so required by the multi-State co-operative society, by a requisition in writing and so long as the
society does not intimate that the whole of such debt or other demand has been paid, make the deduction
in accordance with the agreement and pay the amount so deducted to the society within a period of
fourteen days of the date on which deduction has been made, as if it were a part of the salary or wages
payable on the day as required under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936), and such payment
shall be valid discharge of the employer for his liability to pay the amount deducted.
(3) If after the receipt of a requisition made under sub-section (2), the employer disbursing the salary
or wages of the member at any time fails to deduct the amount specified in the requisition from the salary
or wages payable to the member concerned or makes default in remitting the amount deducted to the
multi-State co-operative society, the society shall be entitled to recover any such amount from such
employer as arrears of land revenue and the amount so due from such employer shall rank in priority in
respect of the liability of such employer equal to that of the salary or wages in arrears.
61. Government aid to multi-State co-operative societies.—Notwithstanding anything contained in
any law for the time being in force, the Central Government or a State Government, on receipt of request
from a multi-State co-operative society and with a view to promoting co-operative movement, may,—
(a) subscribe to the share capital of a multi-State co-operative society;
(b) give loans or make advances to a multi-State co-operative society;
(c) guarantee the repayment of principal and payment of interest on debentures issued by a
multi-State co-operative society;
(d) guarantee the repayment of share capital of a multi-State co-operative society and dividends
thereon at such rates as may be specified by the Central Government or the State Government;
(e) guarantee the repayment of principal and payment of interest on loans and advances to a
multi-State co-operative society;
(f) give financial assistance in any other form, including subsidies, to any multi-State co-operative
society; and
(g) provide aid to any other multi-State co-operative society on such terms and conditions as may
be prescribed.