Pre-deposit requirement does not bar condonation of delay; delay must be decided before revision is entertained.

The deposit requirement under Section 154(2-A) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 applies only to entertaining the revision itself, not to considering an application for condonation of delay. The revisional authority must first decide delay condonation on the basis of sufficient cause under Section 154(3); only after that can it determine whether the revision may be entertained subject to the prescribed pre-deposit. The term "entertain" was construed to mean admission of the revision to consideration, not the initial scrutiny of the delay application.

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Issues: Whether the requirement of depositing fifty per cent of the recoverable dues under Section 154(2-A) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 bars consideration of an application for condonation of delay in filing a revision.

Analysis: The statutory scheme distinguishes between an application for condonation of delay and the entertainment of the revision itself. Section 154(3) empowers the revisional authority to entertain a delayed revision only after sufficient cause for the delay is shown, whereas Section 154(2-A) bars entertainment of the revision against the recovery certificate unless the prescribed deposit is made. The word "entertain" was applied in its settled sense of dealing with or admitting the revision to consideration, not the mere filing or initial consideration of the application for delay. On that construction, the deposit condition does not operate at the stage of deciding whether delay should be condoned.

Conclusion: The pre-deposit bar does not apply to the application for condonation of delay, and the authority must first decide that application on merits before considering whether the revision can be entertained.

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