2016 Supreme(All) 736
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
BEFORE : V.K. SHUKLA, A.C.J. AND UMESH CHANDRA SRIVASTAVA, JJ.
NEW AGE HOTELS AND RESORTS PVT. LTD. .....Petitioner
Versus
STATE OF U.P. AND OTHERS ....Respondents
(Civil Misc.Writ Petition No. 64184 of 2015, decided on 25th May, 2016)
Counsel :
Rohan Gupta, M.C. Chaturvedi, Ravi Kant, Arindam Mukherjee and Ms. Gargi Tuli for the Petitioner; C.S.C., A.K. Singh, Ashish Mishra, Nitin Sharma and Ravindra Singh for the Respondents.
Headnote:State Financial Corporation Act, 1951—Section 29—Loan—Non-payment of—Auction of mortgaged assets—In earlier proceedings Corporation took stand that they had full right to proceed against borrower company and had sold the mortgaged assets treating same as free hold land—They had no right to say that they had lease hold right only in piece of land measuring 15872 sq. ft. and had sold same right to petitioner company and after execution of sale-deed petitioner company acquired same right for remaining period of lease—In view of such act of respondent No. 4 issuing No Dues certificate in favour of respondent No. 5, wholly illegal, unjust and liable to be quashed. [Paras 28 to 36]
Result; Petition Partly Allowed.
Hon’ble Umesh Chandra Srivastava, J.—Heard Shri Ravi Kant, Senior Advocate and Shri M.C. Chaturvedi, Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Rohan Gupta, Advocate, Shri Arindam Mukherjee, Advocate and Ms. Gargi Tuli, Advocate on behalf of petitioner, Shri Ravindra Singh, Advocate on behalf of respondent Nos. 2 and 3, Shri Ashish Mishra, Advocate on behalf of respondent No. 4, Shri Ashish Singh, Advocate on behalf of private respondent Nos. 5 to 9 and learned standing counsel for the State.
2. New Age Hotels and Resorts Pvt. Ltd. through its authorized signatory, Sanjay Janghu is before this Court with the following prayer :
“(i) issue a writ, order of direction in the nature of Certiorari to call for the entire records and files including the file noting of the matter pertaining to M/s. Surprise Hotel Pvt. Ltd., and M/s. New Age Hotels and Resorts and quash the impugned letters dated 7.10.2014 issued by Respondent No. 3 and letter dated 21.7.2015, issued by respondent No. 4 (Annexures 11 and 12 to the writ petition).
(ii) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus, commanding the respondent Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 not to interfere in the peaceful possession of the petitioner over the property in question”.
(iii) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus, commanding the respondents, initiating the vigilance/criminal investigation in respect of affairs of respondent Nos. 3 and 4 in relation to the transaction pertaining to the petitioner and respondent Nos. 5 to 8.
(iv) issue such other and further writ, order or direction which this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the nature and circumstances of the present case;
(v) award costs of the petition to the petitioner”.
3. The factual matrix of the case in brief is that M/s. Surprise Hotel Pvt. Ltd. is a private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act. The predecessor in interest of respondent Nos. 6 to 8, Jai Prakash Dubey (since deceased) was the promoter and Director of this company alongwith his brother respondent No. 9, Dhananjay Kumar Dubey. The company was in need of financial assistance for the running of its business and to meet this requirement Shri Jai Prakash Dubey sold a piece of land in plot bearing Khasra Nos. 692M and 693M measuring 9128 sq. ft. situated in village Ahmadpur Karach (near Shankar Ashram Hardwar Roorkee Road) Pargana-Jawala Pur, Tehsil-Haridwar, District Saharanpur (now Haridwar) and he also leased the remaining 15872 sq. ft. area of this plot in favour of the aforesaid company for a period of thirty years by two registered deeds dated 7.5.1986.
4. The company availed financial assistance in the form of term loans of Rs. 62.50 lakhs and Rs. 26 lakhs from respondent No. 4, the Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation of U.P. Ltd. (In short “PICUP”) by creating equitable mortgage of the entire area of the aforesaid land and it also availed financial assistance of Rs. 44.8 lakhs from respondent No. 2, U.P. Financial Corporation (In short “U.P.F.C.”) by creating joint equitable mortgage of the entire area of the aforesaid land alongwith respondent No. 5, PICUP. Shri Jai Prakash Dubey and his brother respondent No. 9, Dhananjay Kumar Dubey stood guarantor for the financial assistance availed by the company by executing an agreement for loan, undertaking and bond of guarantee. The company however, failed to keep its promise to repay its loan with the result proceedings under Section 29 of the State Financial Corporation Act, 1951 (In short the “Act”) were initiated by respondent No. 2, U.P.F.C. for itself and on behalf of respondent No. 4, PICUP as its agent against the borrower company. In the said proceedings, the mortgaged assets of the company, i.e. free hold right in land bearing Khasra Nos. 692M and 693M, measuring 9128 sq. ft. and all lease hold rights in the remaining land measuring 15872