IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that the 15-day response period in Section 13(3A) of the SARFAESI Act is directory, not mandatory, allowing the Bank to proceed with possession despite delays.

JUDGMENT :

Mr. Sureshwar Thakur, J. :- Since both the writ petition(s) (supra), involve common questions of facts and law, thus, they are amenable to be decided through a common verdict.

2. Be that as it may, the facts of both the writ petition(s) (supra) are yet required to be separately delineated.

Facts of CWP-11641-2020

3. That respondent No. 3-company became granted various credit facilities, thus by the lending institution concerned, but against various secured assets. On account of non-adherence to financial discipline by respondent No. 3, thus the apposite debt was on 30.12.2014, hence classified as Non Performing Assets.

4. The petitioner Bank issued notice on 30.07.2016 under Section 13 (2) of the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (hereinafter called as the ‘SARFAESI Act’) thereby calling upon respondent No. 3 and its directors and guarantors to discharge in full its financial borrowings but within 60 days from the date of the notice (Annexure P-1A).

5. That respondent No. 3 filed theretos its objections under Section 13 (3A) of SARFAESI Act. The said objections were duly considered but became rejected by the petitioner-Bank, through an order drawn thereons on 13.10.2016 (Annexure P-3).

6. That notice under Section 13 (4) of the SARFAESI Act read with Rules 8 and 9 of the Security Interest Enforcement Rules, 2002 was issued and the Bank took symbolic possession of the mortgaged properties.

7. Thereafter, the erstwhile State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur merged with the State Bank of India. After merger, the petitioner-State Bank of India again issued possession notice under Section 13 (4) of the SARFAESI Act.

8. The petitioner-Bank made application under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, on 10.01.2018, wherebys the respondent No. 1-District Magistrate, Ludhiana, was requested to provide assistance for the taking over of possession of the secured assets, as, described in the application.

9. Respondent No. 3 filed its objections to the said application. The Bank submitted its reply dated 28.03.2018 to respondent No. 1 against the objections made by respondent No. 3.

10. Respondent No. 1 through the impugned order (Annexure P-10) dismissed the application as became preferred under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, by the lending institution concerned.

11. The petitioner-Bank filed CWP-23399 of 2018 before this Court which was dismissed as withdrawn vide order dated 14.09.2018 with liberty to avail alternative remedies as available to it in accordance with law.

12. The petitioner-Bank got security interest registered with the Central Registry under Section 26-D of the SARFAESI Act. Subsequently, a 2nd application under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act was moved by the Bank before respondent No. 1.

13. Respondent No. 1 through an order drawn on 12.04.2019 (Annexure P-15 again rejected the apposite application of the petitioner-Bank.

14. Thereafter, the Bank issued fresh notice under Section 13(4) of the SARFAESI Act, through registered post, which became pasted on the premises concerned. Moreover, the said notice was also published in newspapers but the above notices, were so respectively pasted and published but only after withdrawal being made of all the earlier notices.

15. Subsequently, a fresh application cast under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, was preferred by the lending institution concerned before the District Magistrate concerned.

16. However, through an order drawn thereons on 30.12.2019 (Annexure P-18), the respondent No. 1, rather rejected the said application, on the ground that the Bank has not complied with the provisions of Section 13 (3-A) of the SARFAESI Act, inasmuch as, the order rejecting the borrower’s objections becoming not been passed within 15 days from the date of receipt of representation or objection, as made, by the borrower, to the notice issued to it by the lending institution, thus under Section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act.

17. The drawing of the o