Point of Law : Loan agreement - Recovery of amounts due to Financial Corporation as an arrear of land revenue - Substantive relief in an application under Section 31 (1) is something akin to an application for attachment of property in execution of a decree at a stage posterior to passing of decree.

JUDGMENT :

Through a loan agreement executed inter se the deceased husband of the writ petitioner, on behalf of M/s Advid Drugs Private Limited, being its Director, and, the respondent corporation, certain financial assistances were purveyed to the borrower. The apposite loan agreement occurs at page 61 of the paper book. The afore loan agreement was executed by the deceased husband of the writ petitioner, one Anand Bhanwal, on behalf of M/s Advid Drugs Pvt. Ltd., with the respondent financial corporation. Since, defaults occurred in the liquidation(s) of borrowings made by the deceased husband of the writ petitioner. Consequently, the respondent financial corporation, through, its recoursing the mandate occurring in Section 32G of the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951, provisions whereof stand extracted hereinafter, issued a notice as becomes carried in Annexure P-9, hence upon, the surviving spouse of one Dr. Anand Bhanwal. In pursuance to Annexure P-9, the Collector Recovery, Himachal Pradesh Financial Corporation issued Annexure P-10, upon, the writ petitioner, wherethrough, it made an order, upon, the writ petitioner to deposit principal borrowings carried in a sum of Rs. 1,45,43,345/- along with interest accrued thereon on or before 19.01.2016, in the office of H.P. Financial Corporation, Shimla. Provisions of Section 32G of the State Financial Corporations Act, read as under:-

“32G. Recovery of amounts due to the Financial Corporation as an arrear of land revenue.—Where any amount is due to the Financial Corporation in respect of any accommodation granted by it to any industrial concern, the Financial Corporation or any person authorised by it in writing in this behalf, may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, make an application to the State Government for the recovery of the amount due to it, and if the State Government or such authority, as that Government may specify in this behalf, is satisfied, after following such procedure as may be prescribed, that any amount is so due, it may issue a certificate for that amount to the Collector, and the Collector shall proceed to recover that amount in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue.”

2. The petitioner becomes aggrieved from the issuance of the afore notices, respectively carried in Annexure P-9, and, in Annexure P10, and, hence, is led to institute the extant petition before this Court rather for seeking their annulment(s). The loanee company, named, M/s Advid Drugs Pvt. Ltd., through its Director and authorised signatory one Mr. Anand Bhanwal, made borrowings from the H.P. Financial Corporation. The apposite loan document became executed in the year 1989. The learned counsel for the petitioner argues, that the surviving spouse of Dr. Anand Bhanwal, cannot become encumbered with the outstanding loan liability of her predeceased husband, nor can the respondent financial corporation issue the impugned annexures, upon, her. He erects the afore submission, on anvil of an agreement carried in Annexure P-2, hence executed inter se her predeceased husband, with one V.K. Rishi, and, wherethrough in paragraph No.8 thereof, para whereof stand extracted hereinafter:-

“8. That the FIRST PARTY shall stand absolved from all the liabilities of the company and the financial institutions and the banks as per the norms of the financial institutions AND the SECOND PARTY undertakes to replace the personal guarantees of the FIRST PARTY which have been given to the financial institutions and banks and from henceforth i.e. 10.04.1990, the SECOND PARTY indemnifies the FIRST party in respect of the said guarantees as per the norms of the financial institutions. The process for replacement of personal guarantees shall be started by the SECOND PARTY forthwith and shall be completed by the 15th June, 1990.”

the afore V.K. Rishi undertook to absolve the predeceased husb