Madhya Pradesh High Court
Iifl Home Finance Limited vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 28 November, 2025
Author: Vivek Rusia
Bench: Vivek Rusia
NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:61804
1 WP-45001-2025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VIVEK RUSIA
&
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE PRADEEP MITTAL
ON THE 28th OF NOVEMBER, 2025
WRIT PETITION No. 45001 of 2025
IIFL HOME FINANCE LIMITED
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS
Appearance:
Shri Rohit Saboo - Advocate for petitioner.
Shri Ritwik Parashar - Government Advocate for respondent/State.
ORDER
Per: Justice Vivek Rusia The petitioner has filed the present writ petition being aggrieved by the order dated 16.09.2025 (Annexure P/3) whereby the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Burhanpur, District Burhanpur (MP), has dismissed an application under Section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the SARFAESI Act), on the technical ground alleging absence of authorization and that the newspaper publication under Section 13(4) was not legible.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the similar issue came up before this Court in Writ Petition No.34845/2025 titled as AU Small Finance Bank Ltd through Authorized Signatory Mr. Madhur Gupta Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRAVEEN Signing time: 29-11- 2025 13:55:01 NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:61804 2 WP-45001-2025 Vs. the State of Madhya Pradesh and Another and this Court vide order dated 04.09.2025 has passed the following orders:-
"4. Relevant provisions of Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act are reproduced, as under: -
"14. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate to assist secured creditor in taking possession of secured asset.- (1) Where the possession of any secured asset is required to be taken by the secured creditor or if any of the secured asset is required to be sold or transferred by the secured creditor under the provisions of this Act, the secured creditor may, for the purpose of taking possession or control of any such secured asset, request, in writing, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the District Magistrate within whose jurisdiction any such secured asset or other documents relating thereto may be situated or found, to take possession thereof, and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or, as the case may be, the District Magistrate shall, on such request being made to him -
(a) take possession of such asset and documents relating thereto; and
(b) forward such asset and documents to the secured creditor.
[Provided that any application by the secured creditor shall be accompanied by an affidavit duly affirmed by the authorised officer of the secured creditor, declaring that-
(i) the aggregate amount of financial assistance granted and the total claim of the Bank as on the date of filing the application;
(ii) the borrower has created security interest over various properties and that the Bank or Financial Institution is holding a valid and subsisting security interest over such properties and the claim of the Bank or Financial Institution is within the limitation period;
(iii) the borrower has created security interest over various properties, giving the details of the properties referred to in sub-clause (ii) above.
(iv) the borrower has committed default in repayment of the financial assistance granted, aggregating the specified amount;
(v) consequent upon such default in repayment of the fInancial assistance the account of the borrower has been classified as a nonperforming asset;
(vi) affirming that the period of sixty days notice as required by the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 13, demanding payment of the defaulted financial assistance has been served on the borrower;
(vii) the objection or representation in reply to the notice received from the borrower has been considered by the secured creditor and reasons for non-
acceptance of such objection or representation had been communicated to the borrower;
(viii) the borrower has not made any repayment of the financial assistance in spite of the above notice and the Authorised Officer is, therefore, entitled to take possession of the secl1red assets under the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 13 read with section 14 of the principal Act;
(ix) that the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder had been complied with:
Provided further that on receipt of the affidavit from the Authorised Officer, the District Magistrate or the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, as the case may be, shall after satisfying the contents of the affidavit pass suitable orders for the purpose of taking possession of the secured assets [within a period of thirty days from the date of application]:Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRAVEEN Signing time: 29-11- 2025 13:55:01
NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:61804 3 WP-45001-2025 Provided further that if no order is passed by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate within the said period of thirty days for reasons beyond his control, he may, after recording reasons in writing for the same, pass the order within such further period but not exceeding in aggregate sixty days.
Provided also that the requirement of filing affidavit stated in the first proviso shall not apply to proceeding pending before any District Magistrate or the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, as the case may be, on the date of commencement of this Act.] (1A) The District Magistrate or the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate may authorise any officer subordinate to him,-
(i) to take possession of such assets and documents relating thereto; and
(ii) to forward such assets and documents to the secured creditor.] (2) For the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of sub-section (1), the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the District Magistrate may take or cause to be taken such steps and use, or cause to be used, such force, as may, in his opinion, be necessary.
(3) No act of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the District Magistrate [any officer authorised by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate] [Inserted by Act No. 1 of 2013] done in pursuance of this section shall be called in question in any Court or before any authority."
5. If the ld. Magistrate, after examining all the documents and pleadings in the application, was of the opinion that certain facts are not supported by documents, then an opportunity to submit ought to have been given instead of dismissing summarily, which he had examined in this case, and dismissed the application under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act. Under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, the secured creditor approaches the CJM or DM to seek assistance for taking possession of secured assets, not for any adjudication of any dispute; hence, a hyper-technical approach should not have been used.
6. In the case of Balkrishna Rama Tarle v. Phoenix ARC (P) Ltd. , (2023) 1 SCC 662 the apex court has held as under:-
"18. Thus, the powers exercisable by CMM/DM under Section 14 of the Sarfaesi Act are ministerial steps and Section 14 does not involve any adjudicatory process qua points raised by the borrowers against the secured creditor taking possession of the secured assets. In that view of the matter once all the requirements under Section 14 of the Sarfaesi Act are complied with/satisfied by the secured creditor, it is the duty cast upon the CMM/DM to assist the secured creditor in obtaining the possession as well as the documents related to the secured assets even with the help of any officer subordinate to him and/or with the help of an advocate appointed as Advocate Commissioner. At that stage, the CMM/DM is not required to adjudicate the dispute between the borrower and the secured creditor and/or between any other third party and the secured creditor with respect to the secured assets and the aggrieved party to be relegated to raise objections in the proceedings under Section 17 of the Sarfaesi Act, before the Debts Recovery Tribunal."
7. The full bench of this high court in the case of Bank Of Baroda v. District Magistrate [WP 11500 of 2020] NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025: MPHC- JBP:10415 has held as under in respect of power of magistrate under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act: -
"34. The wording of Section 14 of the Act is very clear. The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the District Magistrate, as the case may be, on receipt of such a request is obliged to take over possession of the secured asset and forward the Signature Not Verified Signed by: PRAVEEN Signing time: 29-11- 2025 13:55:01 NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2025:MPHC-JBP:61804 4 WP-45001-2025 asset to the secured creditor. There is no discretion given to the same authority. Said authority is obliged to take possession and handover to the secured creditor. We may note that first proviso to Section 14 of the Act provides that the application of the secured creditor shall be accompanied by an affidavit duly affirmed by an authorised officer declaring to certain conditions as contained in first proviso to Section 14 of the Act. Once such a declaration is filed, the District Magistrate or Chief 19 WP-11500-2020 Metropolitan Magistrate has to merely satisfy himself with the contents of the Affidavits and then pass suitable orders for the purposes of taking possession of the secured asset within a period of 30 days. The District Magistrate or Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has been given powers only to ascertain as to whether the Affidavit filed by the authorised officer satisfies the requirement of the first proviso to Section 14 of the Act. Once the Affidavit satisfies the requirement of Section 14 of the Act, the District Magistrate has no discretion thereafter. In this case, the application has been dismissed without notice to the borrower/guarantor; and even otherwise, in view of the Full Bench judgement of this Court, no notice is required to be given."
8. Shri Saboo LC submits that the petitioner is in possession of all the documents to satisfy the ld. magistrate about the compliance of the provisions of sec 13 of the Act but no opportunity was given to do so.
9. As held above in discharge of ministerial work the technical approach is not permissible in order to frustrate the object of the enactment. The power to assist means the secured creditors and Magistrate or DM/ADM should work in cooperation or conjunction to achieve the purpose for which both have been given the powers and authority under the SARFAESI Act. Hence, the impugned order dated 14.08.2025 (Annexure P/4) passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mandsaur, District Mandsaur (MP) is hereby set aside and the matter is remanded back to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mandsaur, to pass an order, in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act.
10. Accordingly, the present petition stands disposed off."
3. In view of the aforesaid, the present writ petition stands disposed of. The order dated 04.09.2025 passed in Writ Petition No. 34845/2025, titled AU Small Finance Bank Ltd. through Authorized Signatory Mr. Madhur Gupta vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the present case as well.
(VIVEK RUSIA) (PRADEEP MITTAL)
JUDGE JUDGE
Praveen
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: PRAVEEN
Signing time: 29-11-
2025 13:55:01