M/S
Vinedale Distilleries Ltd.& ANR. Vs. Dena Bank & Ors. [2010] INSC 28
(11 January 2010)
Judgment
(for
judgment) S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Transfer
Petition ) No. 740-741/08 M/S VINEDALE DISTILLERIES LTD. & ANR. Petitioner
(s) VERSUS DENA BANK & ORS. Respondent (s) Date : 11/01/2010 This Petition
was called on for judgment today.
For
Petitioner (s) Mr. D.K. Sinha,Adv.
For
Respondent(s) Ms. Manjusha Wadhwa,Adv.
Mr. E. C.
Agarwala,Adv.
Hon'ble
Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir pronounced the Judgment of the Bench comprising His
Lordship, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Aftab Alam and Hon'ble Mr.
Justice
Surinder Singh Nijjar.
The
Transfer Petitions are allowed in terms of the signed judgment placed on the
file.
(Ganga
Thakur) (Juginder Kaur) P.S. to Registrar Court Master (Signed non-Reportable
judgment is placed on the file.) IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL
JURISDICTION TRANSFER PETITION (CIVIL) NOS.740-741 OF 2008 M/s Vinedale
Distilleries Ltd.
and
Another ... Petitioners Versus Dena Bank and others ... Respondents
ALTAMAS
KABIR, J.
1.
These Transfer Petitions have been filed by M/s Vinedale
Distilleries Ltd. for transfer of two Original Applications pending before the
Debts Recovery Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as `the DRT'), Hyderabad, to
the DRT, Jhandewalan, Delhi.
While
O.A. No.29 of 2000 was filed by Dena Bank against the Petitioner Company, S.A.
No.157 of 2008 was filed by the Petitioner Company against Dena 4 Bank before
the DRT, Hyderabad. The said applications had been made on the basis of an
order passed by this Court on 4th January, 2008, in Transfer Petition (C)
No.945 of 2006. While allowing the said Transfer Petition and thereby
transferring various suits pending between the parties before the Civil Court
in Andhra Pradesh to the Delhi High Court, this Court, on consent of the
parties, also directed as follows :- "In order to avoid any future
confusion, on consent of the parties, any suit which may be filed in future
touching upon the control and management of the Company in question, should be
filed before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court, which will decide the matters."
2.
Having regard to the above direction, the Petitioners herein have
prayed that the two above- mentioned matters filed under the provisions of the
Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993
(hereinafter referred to as 5 `the DRT Act') and Section 17 of the
Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of
Security Interest Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as `the Securitization
Act'), both pending before the DRT, Hyderabad, be transferred to the DRT,
Jhandewalan, Delhi.
3.
Appearing in support of the Transfer Petitions, Mr. Chetan Sharma,
learned Senior Advocate, submitted that since by virtue of the aforesaid order
dated 4th January, 2008, all matters pertaining to the Petitioner Company and
its management had been transferred to the Delhi High Court in order to avoid
confusion, the proceedings pending before the DRT, Hyderabad, were also
required to be transferred to the DRT, Jhandewalan, Delhi, so that all matters
pertaining to the Vinedale Distilleries and its management could be heard and
disposed of by the Delhi High Court exclusively. Mr. Sharma submitted that in
order to avoid a possible conflict of decisions among Courts operating in
different territorial jurisdictions in 6 regard to the management and control
of the Petitioner Company, this Court had directed all matters relating to the
Company and its management to be decided by the Delhi High Court exclusively.
Mr.
Sharma submitted that even further proceedings against the Award of the DRT in
Delhi would have to be filed before the Delhi High Court which was also in
seisin of the matters pertaining to the management of the company. Mr. Sharma
submitted that in the interest of justice and in keeping with the spirit of the
order passed by this Court on 4th January, 2008, the pending proceedings before
the DRT, Hyderabad, should be transferred to the DRT, Jhandewalan, Delhi.
4.
Responding to Mr. Sharma's submissions, Mr. Rakesh Tikku, learned
Advocate appearing for Respondent No.1 Bank, contended that in view of the
disputes among the three groups fighting for the management of the Petitioner
Company, the payment of the dues of the Bank were being successfully 7 avoided.
It was submitted that the present applications were nothing but a ploy to
further defer payment of the outstanding dues of the Bank amounting to almost
Rs.19 crores as on the date of the hearing. It was submitted that in the
contest relating to the management of the Company, the payment of the dues of
the Bank were being sidelined and the Bank was, therefore, willing to abide by
any order that might be passed by this Court in the present Transfer Petitions
since its only concern was to recover its dues from the Petitioner Company. In
fact, learned counsel for the Bank questioned the manner in which one group,
referred to as the S.K. Agarwal Group, had initiated the proceedings before the
DRT, Hyderabad, challenging the order passed by the Bank under Section 13(4) of
the Securitization Act in January, 2006, after a delay of 786 days.
According
to learned counsel, the very situation which this Court had wanted to avoid by
its order dated 4th January, 2008, was sought to be frustrated 8 by the filing
of the Appeal by the S.K. Agarwal group before the DRT, Hyderabad, while all
the other matters pertaining to the Company and its management were pending in
Delhi.
5.
The petitioner's prayer for transfer of the pending proceedings
before the DRT, Hyderabad, was, however, seriously opposed on behalf of private
respondents. It was urged by Mr. E.C. Agrawala, learned Advocate appearing for
the private respondents, that the proceedings before the DRT, Hyderabad, were
not covered by the directions contained in the order passed by this Court on
4th January, 2008. Mr. Agrawala submitted that the said order related only to
suits in regard to the management and control of the Petitioner Company.
As far as
the proceedings before the DRT, Hyderabad, are concerned, Mr. Agrawala
submitted that they related to the recovery of the outstanding dues of the Bank
which the Bank was entitled to initiate before the Debts Recovery Tribunal and
had nothing to do with the management 9 of the Company as such. It was urged
that the proceedings before the DRT were and would have to be treated on a
different footing in relation to the suits pending before the Delhi High Court
for the right to manage the Company. Mr. Agrawala submitted that there was, therefore,
no ground made out on behalf of the Petitioner Company for transfer of the
proceedings before the DRT, Hyderabad, to the DRT, Jhandewalan, Delhi.
6.
We have carefully considered the submissions made on behalf of the
respective parties, and, although, technically speaking the proceedings before
the DRT, Hyderabad, are not covered by the directions contained in the order of
4th January, 2008, due weightage has to be given to the intention of this Court
that all matters pertaining to the management of the Petitioner Company should
be heard and decided by one Court to avoid conflicting judgments. In fact, that
was the very object and purport with which all the pending civil matters in the
State of Andhra Pradesh touching the 10 management of the Petitioner Company
were directed to be heard by the Delhi High Court exclusively. In keeping with
the above intention and purport of the said order, it was only but reasonable
that the proceedings before the DRT, Hyderabad, should be transferred to the
DRT, Jhandewalan, Delhi, since all the other proceedings relating to the
management and control of the Petitioner Company are being heard by the Delhi
High Court.
Furthermore,
it is the Delhi High Court which is the appellate forum against an order of the
DRT, Delhi. Therefore, in keeping with the spirit of the directions contained
in the order of 4th January, 2008, we are inclined to allow the Transfer
Petition filed by M/s Vinedale Distilleries Ltd.
7.
The Transfer Petitions are, therefore, allowed.
Let O.A.
No.29 of 2000, Dena Bank vs. M/s Vinedale Distilleries Ltd. & Ors., and
Securitization Application No.157 of 2008, M/s Vinedale Distilleries Ltd. vs.
Dena Bank, pending before the 11 Debts Recovery Tribunal, Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh, stand transferred to the Debts Recovery Tribunal, Jhandewalan, Delhi.
8.
There will, however, be no order as to costs.
...............................................................J. (ALTAMAS
KABIR)
...............................................................J.
(AFTAB ALAM)
...............................................................J.
(SURINDER SINGH NIJJAR)
New Delhi,
Dated: January 11, 2010.
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