JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Mr. D. Mazumdar, learned senior counsel for the petitioner and Mr. S.S. Sarma, learned senior counsel for the State Bank of India (‘SBI’) and its officials, i.e., the respondents.

2. By filing this petition under article 226 of the Constitution of India, petitioner seeks the following reliefs:

“In the premises aforesaid it is most humbly prayed that Your Lordships may be pleased to issue rule calling upon the respondents to show cause as to why a writ of mandamus should not be issued to direct the respondent to allow the petitioner to sell the land under Dag No. 3790 (New)/772 (01d)/3585 (Old), Patta No. 2866 (New)/114 (01d)/883 (Old) purchased by the petitioner vide sale deed No. 2145 dated 5.3.2005 and sale deed No. 2144 dated 5.3.2005 and return the sale deeds after completion of the payment of Asset Backed Loan so as to enable the petitioner to close the loan Account No. 00000035647397478 as prayed for by the petitioner through his application dated 30.6.2018 and cause or causes being shown upon hearing the parties make the rule absolute and be pleased to pass such other or further order as to Your Lordships may seem fit and proper.”

3. Case of the petitioner is that he had obtained an asset-backed loan from the SBI for an amount of Rs. 2 crores under Account No. 00000035647397478 for upgrading infrastructure of the coaching institute run by him, namely, Scholars Academy, Guwahati. In connection with this loan, he had mortgaged 2 title deeds standing in his name as well as that of his wife, being sale deed No. 2145 dated 5.3.2005 and sale deed No. 2144 dated 5.3.2005 for lands covered by Dag No. 3790 (New) and Patta No. 2866 (New).

4. It appears that one trust by the name of Scholars Academy Education Trust (‘Trust’), of which petitioner is the Chairman and Managing Trustee, had earlier availed loan from the SBI. It is stated that for various reasons, the Trust could not make repayment of the loan for which notice under section 13(2) of the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002 (‘SARFAESI Act’) was issued. According to the petitioner, an amount of Rs. 10 crores is required to meet the demand as per notice under section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act. For repayment of the said loan as well as for repayment of the asset-backed loan petitioner wants to sell the land for which he had mortgaged the title deeds before the SBI. He has stated that he has found a borrower, who is willing to purchase the said lands as per the market price and as per assessment of the petitioner, from the sale proceeds, he will not only be in a position to repay the asset-backed loan, but also substantially repay the amount covered by the section 13(2) notice. In this connection, petitioner made a representation before the SBI authorities on 30.6.2018, seeking permission to sell the lands and upon liquidation of the loan amount of the asset-backed loan to release the mortgaged deeds. Since there was no response, present writ petition has been filed.

5. On 23.7.2018, this court had issued notice with the observation that pendency of the writ petition would not be a bar for the respondents to release the title deeds of the petitioner to enable sale of the mortgaged property to repay the loan amount.

6. An additional affidavit has been filed by the petitioner stating that SBI had informed him on 14.8.2018 that it has come out with a scheme for one-time-settlement (‘OTS’) of non-performing assets (‘NPA’) and had asked the petitioner to avail the same on the terms and conditions mentioned therein. It is in this context, petitioner has stated that permission to sell the land covered by the mortgaged deeds has become all the more necessary as otherwise he would not be in a position to repay the asset-backed loan amount as well as the NPA of the Trust.

7. SBI has filed a detailed affidavit. It is stated that Scholars’ Academy Education Trust, of which the petitioner is the managing trust