Court affirmed appointment of an Advocate Commissioner under the Arbitration Act to enforce a loan agreement, emphasizing adherence to specified terms and arbitration.

O R D E R

This application was filed for appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to seize the vehicle and hand over the same to the applicants.

2. When the matter came up for hearing on 03.07.2025, this Court passed the following order :

“As directed by this Court, the applicants have effected Substituted Service on the Respondents 1 to 3 by effecting paper publication. The paper publication has been enclosed along with the Affidavit of service. Hence, the Respondents 1 to 3 are set exparte by this Court.

2. The respondents are defaulters in repayment of the loan to the applicants. The loan agreement dated 29.07.2023 empowers the applicants to repossess the vehicle from the respondents in case the respondents commit default in repayment of the loan. As on 22.04.2025, a sum of Rs.13,29,985/- is due and payable by the respondents to the applicants, as is seen from the statement of account filed along with this application. As on the date of filing of the application, the respondents are in arrears of Rs.13,38,100/- as is seen from the affidavit filed in support of the petition.

3. The applicants have expressed their difficulty to appoint the Advocate Commissioner on its own. They have also expressed their willingness to go for arbitration in accordance with arbitration clause contained in the loan agreement, dated 29.07.2023. The applicants have already recalled the loan of the respondents. This Court after giving due consideration to the contents of the affidavit filed in support of the application, is of the considered view, a prima facie case has been made out by the applicants for the appointment of an Advocate Commissioner by this Court to repossess the vehicle from the respondents or wherever available. To enable the respondents to take back possession of the vehicle from the Advocate Commissioner, they must be put on terms for getting back the vehicle from the applicants after re-possession. In order to strike a balance, the following order is passed by this Court:

a) Mr.A.Baskar, Advocate, having office at No.37/40, 3^rd main road, Thiruvalluvar nagar, Kodungaiyur, Chennai 600 118 (Mob. No.7904881526) is appointed as the Advocate Commissioner to re-posses the vehicle, morefully described in the schedule to the Judges Summons from the respondents from their premises or wherever available;

b)The Advocate Commissioner, after re-possessing the vehicle, shall handover interim custody of the same to the applicants, who shall keep it in their safe custody;

c)The Advocate Commissioner, immediately after re-

possessing the subject vehicle, shall intimate the respondents either through Registered Post with Acknowledgment Due (RPAD) or by hand delivery through a written communication that the arrears of installments work out to Rs.13,29,985/-;

d)The respondents, on payment of Rs.13,29,985/- to the applicants within a period of three days from the date when the subject vehicle was re-possessed, is entitled for return of the seized vehicle. On receipt of the sum of Rs.13,29,985/- within the stipulated time as stated supra, the applicants shall re-deliver the subject vehicle back to the respondents with proper acknowledgment and the advocate commissioner shall also render proper assistance for the same;

e)The applicants shall initiate arbitration in accordance with the arbitration agreement contained in the contract within a period of 90 days from today. In case, the applicants fail to initiate arbitration within the stipulated time, the order passed by this Court today shall stand automatically vacated and the re-possessed vehicle shall also be redelivered back to the respondents by the applicants unconditionally;

f)In case, the Advocate Commissioner requires Police assistance d