Full Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN THURSDAY ,THE 31ST DAY OF JANUARY 2019 / 11TH MAGHA, 1940 WP(C).No. 2124 of 2019 PETITIONER/S: 1 BIJI.S, AGED 40 YEARS KANIYAN PARAMBIL,KOOROPPADA P.O.KOTTAYAM. 2 K.M.SHEKHARAN, AGED 67 YEARS KANIYAN PARAMBIL, KOOROPPADA P.O.KOTTYAM 3 PANKAJAKSHI AMMA, AGED 62 YEARS KANIYAN PARAMBIL,KOOROPPADA P.O.KOTTAYAM. 4 REJIMON K.S, AGED 37 YEARS KANIYAN PARAMBIL, KOOROPPADA P.O.KOTTAYAM. BY ADV. SRI.A.K.HARIDAS RESPONDENT/S: THE AUTHORIZED, KOTTAYAM CO-OPERATIVE URBAN BANK LTD, NO 42, KOTTAYAM-686 001. BY ADV. SRI.SURIN GEORGE IPE - SC THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 31.01.2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
JUDGMENT
The petitioners pray that certain loan facilities, availed of by them from the respondent-Bank, be permitted to be paid off by them in 6 months.
2. However, the learned Standing Counsel
for the Bank submits that the total amount due from the petitioners, as on today, is Rs.40,17,775/- and that on account of the strict supervisory control by the Reserve Bank of India on the Bank, the petitioners must pay this amount by the end of March 2019, failing which the Bank may be permitted to take possession of the secured asset physically; adding that they have already taken symbolic possession of the same. He, further, says that no further latitude can be shown to the petitioners, since they have been erratic in servicing the loan account in the past.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner,
in response to this, says that his clients are attempting to sell the secured asset through a private sale and that negotiations are going on with several prospective buyers; but that many of them are unwilling to buy the property because of the mortgage. He prays that the Bank may be directed to permit them to sell the property, subject to the payment of the entire amounts due to them, so that they will be in a position to find a buyer for it at least at a price near the market value. In the afore circumstances and since I see that the Bank is only interested in making recovery by the end of March 2019, I permit the petitioner, either to pay an amount of Rs.40,17,775/-, as on today, along with all applicable charges and interest; or to find a prospective buyer, who will pay this amount to the Bank, thus settling the entire loan liability; on or before 28.03.2019. I make it clear that the directions in this judgment are peremptory in nature and that the petitioner will have to comply with the same meticulously. I caution the petitioner that no further requests for extension or modification of this judgment will be permitted and that if the petitioner fails to comply with the directions herein, he will lose the benefit of this judgment and he will also be foreclosed from challenging the measures/proceedings taken by the Bank under the SARFAESI Act and impugned in this writ petition before any other alternative Forum or Court. The writ petition is ordered accordingly.
Sd/- DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN RR JUDGE APPENDIX PETITIONER'S/S EXHIBITS: EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE NOTICE DATED 10.1.2019