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2025 Supreme(Online)(P&H) 4394

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
STATE BANK OF INDIA – Appellant
Versus
M/S SILVER SCREEN MAGNETIC DIAGNOSIS LTD – Respondent



Judgement Key Points

Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:

  1. The case involves an application by the applicant, Balwinder Kaur Grewal, seeking to submit a higher bid for the property of the company in liquidation, M/s Silver Screen Magnetic Diagnostics Limited. The applicant contends that the auction was conducted under terms that required court approval and that her bid was interrupted due to technical issues, which she claims prevented her from participating fully in the bidding process (!) (!) .

  2. The auction notice clearly states that the sale is subject to the approval and confirmation of the High Court, and that the highest bid does not automatically guarantee confirmation. The court has the authority to modify or withdraw the sale and to consider the adequacy of the bid price before confirming the sale (!) (!) .

  3. The applicant participated in the auction, placing multiple bids, and claims that her internet disconnection was accidental and beyond her control. She has expressed her willingness to increase her bid and deposit earnest money to demonstrate her bona fide intention to purchase at a higher price (!) (!) .

  4. The respondent, Madan Lal Bansal, opposed the application, arguing that the auction was conducted properly, with due publication and adherence to the terms and conditions. He contended that the applicant’s delay in raising her grievance and her subsequent bid increase were attempts to circumvent the auction process. The respondent emphasized that the auction process was transparent and that the court should not interfere at this stage (!) (!) .

  5. The official liquidator expressed no objection to the applicant’s participation, noting that the sale has not yet been confirmed and that higher bids would benefit the creditors and other stakeholders. The liquidator highlighted that the auction terms explicitly reserve the court’s right to modify or withdraw the sale and to consider bids beyond the highest bid initially received (!) (!) .

  6. The court observed that the application to participate in the bidding process is timely and justified, given that the sale is still pending court approval. The court emphasized that the auction process is governed by terms allowing court discretion to approve or reject bids based on their adequacy, and that prior to confirmation, the court’s primary concern is to ensure that the sale price is appropriate and in the best interest of all parties (!) (!) .

  7. The court also noted that delays in filing representations or applications before confirmation are not necessarily fatal, especially when the auction process was conducted transparently and the sale has not yet been finalized. The court recognized the applicant’s willingness to increase her bid and deposit as indicative of her bona fide intent (!) (!) .

  8. Ultimately, the court permitted the applicant to participate in further bidding, setting her current bid of Rs.8.50 crores as the base price for subsequent inter se bidding. This decision aims to maximize the sale value for the benefit of the creditors and stakeholders, in line with the court’s duty to ensure an adequate and fair sale process (!) .

  9. Additional procedural points include the extension granted to the applicant for depositing earnest money, which was delayed due to extraordinary circumstances, and the court’s direction for inter se bidding to be conducted on a specified future date, with the possibility of further orders depending on the parties’ participation (!) (!) (!) .

  10. The legal framework governing auction sales under liquidation emphasizes that the court retains broad powers to modify, confirm, or set aside sales prior to final confirmation, with the overarching principle being the protection of the interests of creditors, shareholders, and other stakeholders by ensuring the sale price is fair and adequate (!) (!) (!) .

These points collectively outline the court’s reasoning, the procedural context, and the principles guiding its decision to allow the applicant to participate further in the bidding process before final confirmation of the sale.


M/S SILVER SCREEN MAGNETIC DIAGNOSTICS LTD (IN LIQN.)

VS.

STATE BANK OF INDIA & ORS.

Present: Mr.Vishal Aggawal, Advocate and Mr. G.S. Sarao, Advocate for the applicant in CA-77-2025 and for the applicant in CA-91-2025.

Mr.Anand Chhibbar, Advocate with Ms. Ateevraj Sandhu, Advocate and Mr.Dewan Sharma, Advocate for respondent no.2 in CA-77-2025 and respondent no.3 in OLR-9-2025.

Mr.Gaurav Chopra, Senior Advocate with Mr. Reshabh Bajaj, advocate for respondents no.2, 4 and 5 in CA-44-2022.

Mr.Sahilesh Aggarwal, Advocate and Mr.Yash Garg, Advocate for respondent no.7 in CA-44-2022.

Mr.Samar Partap Singh Ahluwalia, Advocate with Mr.Anupam Vashista, Official Liquidator.

***

INDEX

Paragraphs Pages
1. CA-77-2025 1 1-2
2. Arguments on behalf of the applicant 2-5 2-4
3. Arguments on behalf of respondent no.2 6-7 4-6
4. Arguments on behalf of the official liquidator 8 6-7
5. Analysis and Findings 9-24 7-22
6. CA-91-2025 25-27 22
7. OLR-9-2025 28-30 22-23
CA-77-2025

1. Present application has been filed by Balwinder Kaur Grewal under Rules 6 and 9 of the Company Court Rules for submitting a higher bid before confirmation of sale by this Court for the purchase of land measuring 484 square yards and building (basement and ground floor), situated at SCO no.49, Phase II, Sector 54, Mohali, of the company in liquidation i.e., M/s Silver Screen Magnetic Diagnostics Limited, being represented by the official liquidator.

ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT(BALWINDER KAUR GREWAL)

2. Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that in the present case, the applicant is wanting to submit a higher bid for the property in question, of the company in liquidation and is aggrieved by the action of the respondents, wherein the assets of the company in liquidation have been auctioned for a lesser price. It is submitted that for the sale of property in question, the official liquidator had issued auction notice dated 05.02.2025, wherein the reserve price was fixed at Rs. 6.54 crores. Reference in this regard has been made to the auction notice annexed as Annexure A-1. It is submitted that as per clause 7.1, 7.2, 8.1 and 8.2 of the said e-auction notice, the auction sale was subject to approval by the High Court and it was specifically stated that securing the status of highest bidder conferred no right so as to demand automatic confirmation of sale in favour of the highest bidder and that acceptance of the highest bid was also subject to approval /

confirmation by the High Court.

3. It is further submitted that the bidder participating in the auction was required to submit earnest money deposit to the tune of 10% of the bid price, which was submitted by the applicant and that on the date of the auction i.e., 05.03.2025, the applicant gave the first bid and only two bidders i.e., the present applicant and respondent no.2, gave several bids and although the bidding was to end at 5:00 pm but due to inter se bidding continuing, the auction time had to be extended. It is submitted that the applicant continued to bid upto Rs.7,91,34,000/- but thereafter, suddenly the internet connection of the applicant snapped and there was some error, on account of which the applicant was disconnected from the website and when the applicant tried to reconnect, she could not do so as the bidding process had come to an end. It is submitted that respondent no.2 was stated to be the highest bidder having given a bid of Rs.7,97,88,000/- which amount was marginally higher than the last bid given by the present applicant and aggrieved with the said interruption/disconnection, the applicant submitted representation dated 26.03.2025 (Annxure A-4) to the official liquidator bringing to the notice of the official liquidator the abovesaid facts and also the fact that the applicant was ready and willing to give a higher bid and was also willing to deposit 10% of the bid amount to show her bonafide.

4. It is submitted that the auction proceedings had been vitiated on accou

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