JUDGMENT :

K.R. Shriram, J.

1. Applicant in company application no. 314 of 2017 is City Co-operative Credit & Capital Limited ("Applicant"). Applicant had filed the above company application as a secured creditor of Satwik Electric Controls Private Limited ("the Company"), which Company is in liquidation, having been ordered to be wound up by an order dated 19th July 2007 passed by this Court. Applicant seeks directions from this Court to the Official Liquidator to disburse/pay to applicant a sum of Rs. 2,29,30,687/- which had been adjudicated by the Official Liquidator as being payable to applicant with an undertaking to be given by applicant to return the same on such terms as may be directed by this Court.

2. In the above company application, the Official Liquidator has filed the Official Liquidator's Report ("OLR") seeking directions inter alia to change the status of applicant from being adjudicated as a secured creditor, to an unsecured creditor and to permit the Official Liquidator to modify its certified list dated 21st January 2016 to remove the name of applicant from the list of secured creditors.

The question that arises for consideration in the present proceedings is-Whether Applicant is an unsecured creditor or a secured creditor?

3. It is the stand of applicant that it is a secured creditor inter alia by operation of law and under a decree/order of the Co-operative Court inter alia directing attachment, possession and sale of an immovable property of the Company which was earlier mortgaged to applicant.

It is the stand of the Official Liquidator that (i) decree/order did not create a charge on the assets of the Company and applicant is not a secured creditor, and (ii) as there is no charge created by the Company which has been registered as required under Section 125 of the Companies Act, 1956, applicant cannot claim to be a secured creditor.

4. The admitted position from the records is that applicant was the mortgagee of an immovable leasehold property of the Company, being Plot Nos. 12 and 13 admeasuring approximately 7,576 square metres at Village Satpur, District Nashik, together with construction of 2,484.03 square metres thereon (the said land and building or property) under a Deed of Mortgage dated 23rd January 2004. The mortgage pertained to financial facilities extended by applicant to the Company, which remained unpaid.

5. Applicant filed a proceeding for recovery of dues under Section 101 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, ("the Act") in which, after issuing notices to the parties and after making appropriate enquiries, an order came to be passed by the Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies, whereby the Company and the guarantors were jointly and severally held liable to pay an amount of Rs. 1,33,95,892/- together with interest thereon @ 18% p.a. from 1st July 2004 till payment, together with a sum of Rs. 22,500/- towards application fees and expenses.

6. Pursuant to the above order, a Recovery Certificate dated 16th November 2004 came to be issued by the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies under Section 101 of the Act ("Recovery Certificate"). The Recovery Certificate stipulated the manner in which the amount was to be recovered, i.e., as arrears of land revenue and further ordered that applicant would be entitled to execute the Recovery Certificate as per the provisions of Section 156 of the Act and Rule 107 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Rules, 1961 ("the Rules") without being required to file a separate application.

7. It is Applicant's case that the Recovery Certificate contains instructions that were peremptorily given to the officers designated under the Act and the Rules for steps to be taken under the above provisions. Thus, vide the Recovery Certificate there was in effect a decree for payment of money coupled with an order for sale of the property in the event that the decretal dues were not paid.

8. Subsequently, on 12th January 2005, pursuant to the above d