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2023 Supreme(Del) 1264
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Najmi Waziri, Neena Bansal Krishna, JJ.
Demas Developers Private Limited – Appellant
Versus
ICICI Bank Limited & Ors. – Respondents
W.P.(C) 2755 of 2023 & CM APPL. 10597 of 2023
Decided On : 03-03-2023
Mr. Salman Khurshid, Senior Advocate with Mr. Aproov Agarwal, Ms. Vaishnavi Prakash, Ms. Sommya Chaturvedi, Ms. Sidra Khan and Ms. Lubna Naaz, Advocates, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Sanjiv Kakra, Senior Advocate with Mr. Bhum Sain Jain, Mr. Irfan Ahmed, Mr. Shikher Gupta and Mr. Akash Madan, Advocates, for the Respondents.
Mr. Avnish Singh, CGSC with Mr. Aditya Vikram Dembla, Advocates, for the Respondent-7/UOI.
The court prioritizes the protection of the petitioner's rights in the mortgaged property and emphasizes the need for speedy disposal of the case to prevent irreparable prejudice.
Headnote:
Auction - Property Rights - Interim Relief - Mortgaged Assets - Speedy Disposal
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner seeks interim relief regarding the auction of their property mortgaged for a loan, with concerns of irreparable prejudice if the auction sale is confirmed.
Finding of the Court:
The court directs the Debt Recovery Tribunal to hear the petitioner's case before creating any other rights in the mortgaged property, with both parties committing to assist in the speedy disposal of the matter.
Issues: Interim relief for auctioned property, beneficiary status of the petitioner, and stay of notification by Bombay High Court.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasizes the need for early adjudication of the case to prevent irreparable prejudice to the petitioner and takes note of a relevant notification stayed by the Bombay High Court.
Final Decision: The petition, along with pending applications, is disposed of with the direction for the Debt Recovery Tribunal to take up the case on a specified date.
JUDGMENT
Najmi Waziri, J. (Oral)
The hearing has been conducted through hybrid mode (physical and virtual hearing).
CM APPL. 10598/2023 (Exemption)
1. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions.
2. The application stands disposed off.
W.P.(C) 2755/2023 & CM APPL. 10597/2023
3. Issue notice.
4. The learned counsel named above accept notice on behalf of their respective respondents.
5. At joint request, the petition is taken up for disposal.
6. The petitioner's SA No. 384/2022 tilted as "Demas Developers Private Limited vs. ICICI Bank Limited & Ors." seeks interim relief apropos the auction of their property towards recovery of loans given by the respondent/Bank.
7. Auction apropos the said property has already taken place. The auction purchaser has deposited 25 per cent of the bid amount and the time for payment of the balance 75 per cent has been extended to 10.03.2023.
8. Mr. Salman Khurshid, the learned Senior Advocate for the petitioner submits that should the auction sale be confirmed, it will cause an irreparable prejudice to the petitioner, therefore, the DRT concerned be directed to hear the petitioner's case before any other rights are sought to be created in the mortgaged property, to the prejudice of the applicant.
9. Mr. Sanjiv Kakra, the learned Senior Advocate for the R-1 submits that he too would support an early adjudication of the case. Indeed, both the learned Senior Advocates for the parties submit that they would assist the Tribunal whenever the matter is next listed for its speedy disposal.
10. The learned Senior Advocate for the petitioner clarifies that the petitioner was not the beneficiary of the loan, which was financed for laying of a ring-road around the city of Hyderabad. The petitioner had only mortgaged its assets for the said loan.
11. Apropos the notification dated 04.10.2022 being stayed by the Bombay High Court of Bombay on 17.11.2022 in "Ishwarlal Shankarlal Lalwani (Jain) vs. The Union of India", this court has already taken note of the same on 06.02.2023 in "Religare Finvest Limited vs ICICI Bank Limited".
12. In view of the above, the court would request DRT-III, Delhi to take up SA No. 384/2022 on 07.03.2023, subject to its Roster Board.
13. The petition, along with pending applications is disposed-off in terms of the above.
