IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.NAGARESH THURSDAY, THE 10^TH DAY OF MARCH 2022/19TH PHALGUNA, 1943 WP(C) NO. 20251 OF 2021 PETITIONER:

MANEESH SASIDHARAN, AGED 41 YEARS S/O.P.N.SASIDHARAN NAIR, SALABHAM HOUSE, KADUNGAMANGALAM, THIRUVANKULAM, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT, PIN-682 305.

BY ADVS.

P.A.NOOR MUHAMED BOBBY K.PAUL S.GIFFARA P.A.ABHILASH BILAL NIAMATHULLA RUXANA.P.N RESPONDENTS:

1 UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, 3RD FLOOR, JEEVAN DEEP BUILDING, SANSAD MARG, NEW DELHI, PIN-110 001.

2 THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR, RESERVE BANK OF INDIA, BAKERY JUNCTION, P.B.NO.6507, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN-695 033.

3 THE SENIOR MANAGER, OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT, CEPC, RESERVE BANK OF INDIA, BANERJI ROAD, ERNAKULAM, PIN-682 018.

4 THE CHEIF MANAGER, BANK OF BARODA, CHOTTANIKAKRA BRANCH, ERNAKULAM, PIN-682 312.

5 THE DIRECTOR, MSME DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (MSME-

DI), MINISTRY OF MSME, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, KANJANY ROAD, AYYANTHOLE P.O., THRISSUR-680 003.

BY ADVS.

SHRI.S.MANU, ASG OF INDIA SRI.M.JAYAKRISHNAN NAGARAJ NARAYANAN SAIJO HASSAN BENOJ C AUGUSTIN RAFEEK. V.K.

P.PARVATHY NAZRIN HALLAJ SHILPA M.RAJAN THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 10.03.2022, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

N. NAGARESH, J.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

W.P.(C) No.20251 of 2021 `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Dated this the 10<sup>th</sup> day of March, 2022

J U D G M E N T

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The petitioner, who is engaged in the business of travel and tourism and runs interstate passenger transport services, falling under the category of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, is aggrieved by the denial of relief measures provided under Exts.P1, P2 and P6.

2. The petitioner states that he is in the business of interstate passenger transport and has been banking with the 4<sup>th</sup> respondent-Bank of Baroda for the last 12 years. He had 11 loan accounts which were opened for purchasing commercial vehicles. Those loans were closed before due dates, much in advance. The petitioner at present holds three loan accounts, the loans being taken after pledging his sole residential property consisting of 6.39 Ares of land and a residential building thereon owned by his mother. The petitioner states that the advent of Covid-19 pandemic shattered his business.

3. To give relief to the business Enterprises falling under MSME category during the pandemic times, the Government of India, through Reserve Bank of India and National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited, introduced Ext.P1-ECLGS Operational Guidelines. The Reserve Bank of India issued Ext.P2 Resolution Framework dated 06.08.2020. The three loan accounts of the petitioner will fall under SMA-0 as on 01.03.2020 and therefore is eligible for restructuring under Ext.P2. The three accounts of the petitioner were not classified as NPA as on 01.03.2020, the cut-off date prescribed in Ext.P2.

4. The petitioner requested the 4<sup>th</sup> respondent to grant the relief admissible under Exts.P1 and P2. The 4<sup>th</sup> respondent rejected the request of the petitioner as per Ext.P3 stating that the petitioner had NPA accounts with other Banks/NBFCs/FCs as on 29.02.2020. The 4<sup>th</sup> respondent admits that the petitioner's accounts with the 4<sup>th</sup> respondent were not declared as NPAs as on the cut-off date. The petitioner contends that the reason advanced by the 4<sup>th</sup> respondent for denial of benefits under Exts.P1 and P2 is highly arbitrary and unsustainable.

5. The petitioner further argued that by Ext.P5 interim order dated 03.09.2020 in WP(C) No.825/2020, the Hon'ble Apex Court directed that the accounts which were not declared as NPA till 31.08.2020 shall not be declared as NPA till further orders. Subsequently, the Reserve Bank of India issued Ext.P6 Resolution Framework dated 05.05.2021 wherein the eligibility condition to get relief measures thereunder was that the borrower's account is classifi