BRANCH MANAGER, KARNATAKA STATE FINANCIALCORPORATION, BELGAUM v. RAFIQ
1995-01-16
KUMAR RAJARATNAM
body1995
DigiLaw.ai
KUMAR RAJARATNAM, J. ( 1 ) THE petitioner is the second defendant in the trial court. The petitioner is the Karnataka state financial corporation. According to the petitioner some moneys were borrowed by the first defendant, who is the second respondent before this court. For the purpose of convenience the parties will be referred to as they are described in the proceedings before the trial court. The plaintiff filed a suit against the principal borrower and the k. s. f. c. however, the principal borrower does not choose to file the suit. Curiously the plaintiff has filed this suit impleading the principal borrower as the first defendant and the k. s. f. c. , as the second defendant. The substance of the suit in brief is that the plaintiff, who claims to be a tenant under defendant No. 1 has sought for perpetual injunction directing the defendants not to interfere with the peaceful possession of wahiwat of the suit schedule property in any manner. The suit property relates to a garage measuring about 4 guntas in survey No. 116/5 situated at kakatti in belgaum district. The plaintiff filed an application la. No. I for temporary injunction and the trial court granted an order of temporary injunction against the defendants as prayed for. The second defendant who is the k. s. f. c. preferred an appeal against the order of temporary injunction and the appeal was dismissed and the order of temporary injunction was confirmed in m. a. No. 45 of 1989. The second defendant being aggrieved by the orders passed by the trial court as well as the appellate court in appeal has filed this civil revision petition. ( 2 ) THE facts very briefly are that the second defendant who is the petitioner before me is a financial institution created under Section 3 of the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951, (hereinafter referred to as 'the act' ). The object of the corporation is to help the growth of industry by granting loans to enterpreneurs and institutions for improvement of the industrial climate of the state. The facts leading to the filing of the suit are simple. The k. s. f. c. had granted loan to the first defendant and there was a default.
The object of the corporation is to help the growth of industry by granting loans to enterpreneurs and institutions for improvement of the industrial climate of the state. The facts leading to the filing of the suit are simple. The k. s. f. c. had granted loan to the first defendant and there was a default. The k. s. f. c. to protect its interest and to secure the amount that was given by way of loan to the first defendant moved an action under Section 29 of the act. Section 29 of the act reads as follows :"29. (1) where any industrial concern, which is under a liability to the financial corporation under an agreement, makes any default in repayment of any loan or advance or any instalment thereof or in meeting its obligations in relation to any guarantee given by the corporation or otherwise fails to comply with the terms of its agreement with the financial corporation, the financial corporation shall have the right to take over the management or possession or both of the industrial concern, as well as the right to transfer by way of lease or sale and realise the property pledged, mortgaged, hypothecated or assigned to the financial corporation. (2) any transfer of property made by the financial corporation, in exercise of its powers under sub-section (1), shall vest in the transferee all rights in or to the property transferred as if the transfer had been made by the owner of the property. (3) the financial corporation shall have the same rights and powers with respect to goods manufactured or produced wholly or partly from goods forming part of the security held by it as it had with respect to the original goods. (4) where any action has been taken against an industrial concern under the Provisions of sub-section (1), all costs, charges and expenses which in the opinion of the financial corporation have been properly incurred by its as incidental thereto shall be recoverable from the industrial concern and the money which is received by it shall, in the absence of any contract to the contrary, be held by it in trust to be applied firstly, in payment of such costs, charges and expenses and, secondly, in discharge of the debt due to the financial corporation, and the residue of the money so received shall be paid to the person entitled thereto.
(5) where the financial corporation has taken any action against an industrial concern under the Provisions of sub-section (1), the financial corporation shall be deemed to be the owner of such concern, for the purposes of suits by or against the concern, and shall sue and be sued in the name of the concern". this action under Section 29, according to the learned counsel for the petitioner, was only after issuing notice to the first defendant. Mr. Bhat, learned counsel for the petitioner k. s. f. c. strenuously contends that when once action is taken under Section 29 of the act the property vests absolutely with the k. s. f. c. and the k. s. f. c. would be entitled to sell the property that has been pledged to it and recover the amount outstanding and any amount in excess will be returned to the borrower. He also contends that by virtue of Section 29 (5) the financial corporation shall be deemed to be owner of such concern and the borrower has no longer any rights in the property that is subject to an order under Section 29 of the act. There is no doubt another remedy open to the finance corporation under Section 31. Section 31 of the act reads as follows :"31.
There is no doubt another remedy open to the finance corporation under Section 31. Section 31 of the act reads as follows :"31. (1) where an industrial concern, in breach of any agreement, makes any default in repayment of any loan or advance or any instalment thereof or in meeting its obligations in relatior to any guarantee given by the corporation or otherwise fails to comply with the terms of its agreement with the financial corporation or where the financial corporation requires an industrial concern to make immediate repayment of any loan or advance under Section 30 and the industrial concern fails to make such repayment, then, without prejudice to the Provisions of Section 29 of this act and of Section 69 of the Transfer Of Property Act, 1882 any officer ofthe financial corporation, generally or specially authorised by the board in this behalf, may apply to the district judge within the limits of whose jurisdiction the industrial concern carries on the whole or a substantial part of its business for one or more of the following reliefs namely : (a) for an order for the sale of the property pledged, mortgaged, hypothecated or assigned to the financial corporation as security for the loan or advance; or (aa) for enforcing the liability of any surety; or (b) for transferring the management of the industrial concern to the financial corporation; or (c) for an ad interim injunction restraining the industrial concern from transferring or removing its machinery or plant or equipment from the premises of the industrial concern without the permission of the board, where such removal is apprehended. (2) an application under sub-section (1) shall state the nature and extent of the liability of the industrial concern to the financial corporation, the ground on which it is made and such other particular as may be prescribed". this Section contemplates moving the district judge within the limits of whose jurisdiction the industrial concern carries on the whole or a substantial part of its business for an interim order of attachment of the security or so much of the security as would be required to realise the amount outstanding. The procedure that the district judge will follow is stated in Section 32 of the act.
The procedure that the district judge will follow is stated in Section 32 of the act. ( 3 ) ACCORDING to the learned counsel for the petitioner it is also possible to take action under Section 31 depending on the circumstances of the case and an order can be passed by the district judge under Section 32. This however, will not be a bar for any action that the financial corporation may contemplate to take under Section 29 independently. In fact Section 31 itself makes it clear that Section 31 is without prejudice to the Provisions of Section 29 of the act. Therefore, it is his submission that when an action has been taken under Section 29 of the act and an order has been passed in conformity with the principles of natural Justice it would not be open for the principal borrower or any other person claiming under him to approach the civil court for the grant of temporary injunction to frustrate the action taken under Section 29 of the act. He strenuously contended that the interest of the financial corporation will have to be protected and therefore it is entirely for the financial corporation to take action either under Section 29 or under Section 31 and it would be left open to the financial corporation in its wisdom to decide which course of the action it has to follow. ( 4 ) THE learned counsel for the petitioner has brought to my notice a judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Andhra Pradesh state financial corporation v M/s. Gar re-rolling mills and another. In this case the Supreme Court has held that although action was taken after invoking the Provisions of Section 31, recourse to remedy under Section 29 can still be taken without executing an order under Section 31. The Supreme Court has laid down the Rule that the option is entirely with the financial corporation and even if an action is taken under Section 31, the financial corporation may resort to Section 29 without executing an order under Section 31. Another judgment relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner is in the case of M/s. R. k. industries v Andhra Pradesh state financial corporation.
Another judgment relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner is in the case of M/s. R. k. industries v Andhra Pradesh state financial corporation. A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh high court has held that sections 29 and 31 are two sections which provide remedy for the financial corporation for the recovery of loan. It is not at all necessary for the corporation to resort to Section 31 first before invoking the Provisions of Section 29 and initiating action under the said section. If resort has been had to Section 31 culminating in the passing of a decree, then the financial corporation cannot initiate action under Section 29. But under no circumstances it can be said that if the corporation wants to initiate action under Section 29 there is bar or embargo on the corporation to take such action under Section 29. ( 5 ) BOTH above cases clearly hold that it is not necessary to take action under Section 31 and that any action taken under Section 29 by itself would not be a bar because recourse to Section 31 was not resorted to. In the instant case, no action was even contemplated under Section 31 and the action was only taken under Section 29. This case is in a better footing than the other two cases referred to above. There is no whisper in the application filed for temporary injunction by the plaintiff-first respondent that the k. s. f. c. had in any way acted against the principles of natural Justice or that it had not sent any notice to the principal borrower before any action was taken. The conduct of the petitioner is perfectly in accordance with Section 29 of the act and as such there can be no basis for any interim injunction against the k. s. f. c. it is also apparent that as a matter of convenience the plaintiff has made the principal borrower as a defendant along with the financial corporation and therefore has somehow tried to evade the liability of the principal borrower. In these circumstances there can be no ground for granting temporary injunction. The application filed by the k. s. f. c. for vacating the order of injunction in la. No. Ii, in the suit, stands allowed. The order of the trial court allowing la.
In these circumstances there can be no ground for granting temporary injunction. The application filed by the k. s. f. c. for vacating the order of injunction in la. No. Ii, in the suit, stands allowed. The order of the trial court allowing la. No. I and the order of the lower appellate court are set aside. The civil revision petition is accordingly allowed. There will be no order as to costs. --- *** --- .