IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
J.J. MUNIR, J.
Punjab National Bank - Revisionist
Versus
Satbiri and Another - Opposite Parties
Civil Revision No. 110 of 2019
Decided On : 08-09-2021
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Order VII Rule 11 - Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 - Section 34 - Section 13(4) and 34 - Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 - Rule 8 - Loan - Civil court not to have jurisdiction - Mandatory and a Prohibitory injunction – Possession - Rejection of plaint – Challenged - Defendant no. 2, Bank, issued a letter to plaintiff, addressed to defendant no. 1 that brought fact to her knowledge that defendant-Bank had advanced a loan to defendant no. 1, and that on account of non-payment of scheduled instalments due towards repayment of loan, loan account had become a non performing asset - Held, The expression "in respect of any matter" referred to in Section 34 would take in the "measures" provided under sub-section (4) of Section 13 of Act. Consequently, if any aggrieved person has got any grievance against any "measures" taken by the borrower under sub-section (4) of Section 13, remedy open to him is to approach DRT or Appellate Tribunal and not civil court. Civil court in such circumstances has no jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceedings in respect of those matters which fall under sub-section (4) of Section 13 of Act because those matters fell within the jurisdiction of DRT and Appellate Tribunal. Further, Section 35 says, Act overrides other laws, if they are inconsistent with provisions of that Act, which takes in Section 9 CPC as well – Court opinion that learned Civil Judge, Fast Track Court has utterly failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in her, and by her order impugned, has allowed a suit to proceed that is clearly barred by law - Revision allowed.
JUDGMENT :
This is a defendant's revision, challenging an order of Smt. Anupama Singh, Civil Judge, Fast Track Court, Meerut rejecting an application under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, [For short “C.P.C.”].
2. An Original Suit No. 255 of 2018 was instituted before the learned Civil Judge (Senior Division)/Fast Track Court, Meerut by Smt. Satbiri, the plaintiff-respondent here, against Amit Jain, the defendant-respondent no. 1 and the Punjab National Bank, Branch Mangal Pandey Nagar through its Branch Manager, arrayed as the second defendant, seeking a mandatory and a prohibitory injunction, rolled up into one, to the effect that a decree be passed against defendant-respondent no. 2, the Punjab National Bank ordering the said defendant to de-seal the suit property, bearing Flat No. B-405, Fourth Floor, Ansal Township, Meerut Road, and to keep it so, until realization of the defendant-Bank's loan from defendant no. 1 and his guarantors, or until a settlement with the plaintiff. It is also a part of the relief that till such time that the defendant-Bank's loan is realized from the first defendant, or a settlement arrived at with the plaintiff, the Bank be forbidden from interfering with the plaintiff's possession over the suit property.
3. In substance, it is the plaintiff-respondent's case that she purchased the suit property through a registered sale deed dated 23.09.2015, executed in her favour by defendant-respondent no. 1, Amit Jain. She is the owner in possession of the suit property on the basis of the aforesaid conveyance. The plaintiff is poorly educated and hails from a rural background, on account of which, she could not understand the consequences or the impact of documents relating to the Ansal Township Company. However, before buying the suit property from defendant no. 1, she had inquired about the property from the vendor-defendant and purchased it, after scrutinizing documents relating to the suit property. Defendant-respondent no. 1, Amit Jain, was owner in possession of the suit property, situate in Ansal Town, as the documents relating to the property would show. The plaintiff purchased the suit property for a valuable sale consideration of Rs. 27,00,000/- lacs and entered into ownership possession of the same. It is the plaintiff's case that defendant-respondent no. 1 informed her at the time of execution of the sale deed that the sale deed in original, in his favour, is in the safe keeping of the Bank in his locker and it being a Bank holiday, she should get the sale deed executed on the assurance that the following day, defendant no. 1 would retrieve his original title deed from the bank locker and hand it over to the plaintiff. It is then pleaded that defendant no. 2, the Bank, issued a letter dated 03.08.2016 to the plaintiff, addressed to defendant no. 1, Amit Jain that brought the fact to her knowledge that the defendant-Bank had advanced a loan to defendant no. 1, and that on account of non-payment of the scheduled instalments due towards repayment of the loan, the loan account had become a non performing asset.
4. It is also pleaded that the plaintiff-respondent had secured a copy of the sale deed dated 07.08.2015 from her Developer which led her to believe that there was no encumbrance over the suit property. The plaintiff also says that after acquisition of knowledge about the bank loan, she went to the Sub-Registrar's Office at Sardhana and inquired about the loan. The Sub Registrar's Office informed her that there was no loan affecting the suit property, because defendant no. 1, Amit Jain and defendant no. 2, the Punjab National Bank are in collusion with each other, leading to non availability of information about the Bank's encumbrance in the Sub Registrar's Office. It is then pleaded by the plaintiff-respondent that on 13.09.2017, she received a notice about the Bank taking possession of the suit property. It is also pleaded that the plaintiff came to know from the defend
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