After declaration of the hirer company as sick company, finance company is owner of the machinery as per clause of agreement.

V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.

Appellant herein challenges the order dated 21-2-2003 passed by the learned single Judge while disposing of the W.P.M.P. No.93 of 2003 and W.V.M.P. No.40 of 2003 in W.P. No.79 of 2003. By the instant order, the learned single Judge has confirmed the stay orders granted on 2-1-2003 and 10-1-2003. It is an admitted position that the writ petition, W.P. No.79 of 2003 and the other connected writ petitions, W.P. Nos.972 to 974 and 1526 of 2003, are on the identical subject but, filed by different Trade Unions.

2. In the present writ petition, viz. W.P. No.79 of 2003, the petitioner-Union challenged the order passed by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (in short "BIFR") dated 23-4-2002 in BIFR Case No.103 of 1998 and the consequential sale notice thereto. The prayer in this writ petition is as follows:

"... to issue appropriate writs, orders or directions and more particularly a writ in the nature of Certiorarified Mandamus and after calling for the records relating to the proceedings of the first respondent dated 23-4-2002 in so far as it grants permission to sell the machinery and the consequential sale notice issued by the fifth respondent published in The Hindu dated 16-12-2002 and quash the same as being illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional and consequently direct the first respondent BIFR to go ahead with the Rehabilitation Scheme prepared pursuant to its proceedings dated 23-4-2002 and pass such other orders ..."

In short, the contention of the petitioner-Union and the other Trade Unions was that there are about thousand workers working in the Coimbatore Pioneer Mills Limited, third respondent in this appeal, (in short 'the sick mill') and that the said Trade Unions were representing a few of those workers.

3. It is stated in the affidavit filed in support of the present writ petition that the third respondent mill was incorporated in the year 1935 and the total number of workers was about 1000 and that the mill had become sick and therefore, an application came to be filed before the BIFR, which was registered as Case No.103 of 1998. It is then pointed out that on 10-6-1998, the company was declared as sick industrial company under Sec.3(1)(o) of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 (in short 'SICA'). It is then pointed out that the operating agency was directed to submit the modified draft rehabilitation scheme to the BIFR on 25-5-2000 and the company had requested the Board not to wind up the mill in public interest in view of their compliance of the directions given by the BIFR so far. It is then stated in paragraph 3 as under:

"However in paragraph 18 of the proceedings, the Board granted permission to the secured creditors to initiate/pursue their recovery suits on condition that decrees if any granted shall not be executed without prior permission of the Board. The Board observed that this decision will not cause any prejudice to the Company's interest, while safeguarding the interests of the secured creditors."

It is then contended in the very next sentence that in pursuance of this proceedings, this Hon'ble Court, by its order dated 29-11-2002, in Application Nos.2005 to 2010 of 2001, directed the Advocate Commissioner to sell the machinery in as is where is condition which are located in A, B & C units of the company. It is then pointed out that the Advocate Commissioner had issued a sale notice in The Hindu on 16-12-2002, which was sought to be quashed by the petitioner in the present writ petition.

4. On the basis of this, it seems, an interim order came to be passed initially on 2-1-2003 by the learned single Judge and as a result of this, the present appellant filed an application for vacating the stay, which application was dismissed by the learned single Judge, confirming the order of interim stay granted on 2-1-2003 and 10-1-2003.

5. The learned single Judge has taken the view that if the machinery in question is sold out in pursuance of