( 1 ) THE petitioner, a Private Limited Company, engaged in the business of construction activity, purchased at a public auction, property situated at final plot No. 607-A, SP No. 1, TPS No. 3, Near Law Garden, Ahmedabad, being open plot of land admeasuring 1424 sq. yds. along with plinth level construction of 278 sq. mtrs. (out of which 181 sq. yds. to be surrendered for passage and road alignment entitling the purchaser to additional floor space) for a sum of Rs. 1,40,00,000/ -. The auction was held on 27th December,2000 in the following circumstances.

( 2 ) IT appears that Smt. Jayshreeben Vadilal Mehta and Smt. Chandra Devi Chandulal Mehta Agrawal (Transferors) agreed to transfer the property in the name of Shri N. G. Patel representing the Law Garden Shops and Office Complex Owners Association (Transferee) by an agreement entered into on 12th September,1989. Appropriate Authority acting under the provisions of Chapter XXC of the Income Tax Act,1961 (the Act), made an order under Section 269ud (1) of the Act on 25th November,1989. Accordingly in terms of provisions of Section 269ue of the Act, the property vested in the Central Government and the transferors were directed to surrender the possession within fifteen days of passing of the order.

( 3 ) RESPONDENT No. 6 - SBI preferred Civil Suit No. 3917 of 1990 before the City Civil Court at Ahmedabad against one M/s. Aarvy Power Tools Ltd. and others. It is the say of respondent No. 6 that one of the transferors viz. Smt. Jayshreeben Vadilal Mehta was the owner of the property in question and the said property had been placed with SBI by the said transferor by way of equitable mortgage by deposit of title deeds of the property in question. SBI appears to have obtained an injunction on 10th August,1990 against sale of the said property. Thereafter, Income Tax Department was impleaded in the said Civil Suit as one of the defendants and the original injunction operating since 10th August,1990 was modified and made operative qua the newly added defendant. It is an admitted position that the said Civil Suit came to be transferred before Debt Recovery Tribunal.

( 4 ) ON 1st November,1999 SBI moved an application being Exhibit A/107 seeking modification of the injunction order in light of the meeting held on 19th November,1997 in the Chamber of Commissioner of Income Tax (Appropriate Authority ). Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) after hearing the learned Advocates of the respective parties before it passed the following order:"it is further submitted that a meeting was held on 19th November,1997 in the chamber of the Commissioner of Income tax, (Appropriate Authority) and it was agreed that the applicant bank would file appropriate application before this Tribunal praying for modification of injunction and further praying that the said immovable and equitable mortgaged property be allowed to be disposed off by the Income Tax Department subject to the condition that the sale proceeds realised therefrom shall be deposited with the applicant bank in interest bearing deposit and the sale proceeds as well as the interest accrued thereon shall be subject to the final order to be passed by this Tribunal. The learned Advocate for the respondent no. 5 and 6 states that the appropriate authority of the Income Tax Department has filed their reply to the application. The affidavit is duly sworn by the Dy. Commissioner of the Income Tax Department in which it is stated that in the meeting held on 19. 11. 1997, it was decided that State Bank of India will move an application for modification of injunction order to enable the Income Tax Department to auction the property. It was further decided that the sale proceeds of the property shall be deposited with the bank in interest bearing deposits. The amount of sale proceeds and interest thereon will be appropriated after and according to the adjudication of claims of the State Bank of India. Under these circumstances, the application e