Bombay High Court
Sanjeev Shyamsundar Vyas vs Sharayu Developers Private Limited on 7 October, 2021
Author: G.S. Patel
Bench: G.S. Patel
12-IAL14875-2021COMSL14865-2021+.DOC
Atul
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO. 14875 OF 2021
IN
SUIT (L) NO. 14865 OF 2021
Mohid Construction Co ...Plaintiffs
Versus
Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd & Ors ...Defendants
SUIT NO. 1067 OF 2016
WITH
CHAMBER ORDER (L) NO. 22838 OF 2021
AND
NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 644 OF 2017
AND
INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 661 OF 2020
Sarita Shyamsunder Vyas ...Plaintiff
Versus
Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd ...Defendants
SUIT NO. 331 OF 2017
WITH
CHAMBER ORDER (L) NO. 22817 OF 2021
AND
Digitally
signed by
ATUL NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 892 OF 2017
ATUL GANESH
GANESH KULKARNI
KULKARNI Date: AND
2021.10.08
09:52:11
+0530 INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 659 OF 2020
Page 1 of 6
7th October 2021
12-IAL14875-2021COMSL14865-2021+.DOC
Sanjeev Shyamsunder Vyas ...Plaintiff
Versus
Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd ...Defendant
SUIT NO. 330 OF 2017
WITH
CHAMBER ORDER (L) NO. 22815 OF 2021
AND
NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 885 OF 2017
AND
INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 660 OF 2020
Sandeep Shyamsunder Vyas ...Plaintiff
Versus
Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd ...Defendant
Mr Pradeep Sancheti, Senior Advocate, with Aditya Mehta,
Manisha Virkhare, Sachin Mahagavkar, Darshit Shah, &
Shraddha Ambre, i/b Divya Shah Associates, for the Plaintiff in
SL-14865/2021.
Mr Rajesh G Singh, i/b Legal Liaisons, for the Plaintiffs in S-1067/
2016 and S-331-2017.
Mr Arif Bookwala, Senior Advocate, with Diwakar Singh, i/b
Kajal Singh, for Defendant No. 1 in SL-14865/2021.
Mr Ashish Kamat, for Defendant No. 2 in SL-14865/2021.
Mr Ajay Malvankar, Section Officer from the Office of the Court
Receiver, is present.
CORAM: G.S. PATEL, J
DATED: 7th October 2021
PC:-
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7th October 2021
12-IAL14875-2021COMSL14865-2021+.DOC
1.Mr Ramesh Gowani and his son Mr Rishabh Gowani are present in Court. Their passports are tendered in view of what I noticed after the last order. I made an order in urgency on Friday, 1st October 2021. I was told that an office at Tardeo AC market was the ownership premises of the 3rd Defendant, Ramesh Gowani. In open Court, while Mr Rishabh Gowani was present in Court and Mr Ramesh Gowani was present online, I directed the Court Receiver to take possession of the records and computers pertaining to Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd at the Tardeo office. I dictated that part of the order by about 12.30 pm. It was transcribed shortly thereafter. I was then told that outside Court, Mr Rishabh Gowani informed the Court Receiver that there was nothing of Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd at the Tardeo office but everything was at another office at Kamala City. By the time I incorporated that change and released the order, it would have been shortly past 2.30 pm on 1st October 2021.
2. The Court Receiver then reports that CCTV footage at the Tardeo site indicates that after I dictated my order in open Court, goods, materials and records were removed from the Tardeo office. The Kamala City office was found to be a canteen. There was a table on which there were some boxes and this was supposed to be the functioning office of Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd. Mr Ramesh Gowani in Court instructs his Advocate to say that he did not remove any materials. He says he told his 'tenant' at the Tardeo premises that the Receiver was coming and that the tenant then hired a tempo and emptied the office.
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3. No one ever mentioned any tenant. It is inconceivable that Ramesh Gowani owns an office, allows its use as a registered office of Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd, and then says there is a tenant in possession. The story is an outrageous falsehood and this is also evident from the fact that the tenant had no cause to remove the material because my order was directed only and only to the records of Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd.
4. As far as I am concerned, Ramesh Gowani is certainly in contempt. Rishabh Gowani may not be in contempt. Indeed, I will allow him some latitude by acknowledging the fact that he pointed the Receiver to the other office at Kamala City and volunteered that information.
5. Mr Bookwala who appears for Ramesh Gowani and Mr Kamat who appears for Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd both say that Rishabh Gowani does not have any connections or dealings with Sharayu Developers Pvt Ltd and does not attend to its day-to-day affairs. He is a shareholder, but that is all. He was in Court when I made my order on 1st October 2021 and he maintains that he tried to cooperate as best he could.
6. It is true that I asked Mr Rishabh Gowani in the afternoon session whether there was any other office. He said there was none. I will take that to mean that he did not know of any other office.
7. It is also true that the power of contempt must be used both judiciously and carefully, being mindful of its consequences. I find Page 4 of 6 7th October 2021 12-IAL14875-2021COMSL14865-2021+.DOC no excuse whatsoever for Mr Ramesh Gowani's conduct. Mr Bookwala tells me that he is seriously unwell and requires medical treatment. That may be so but it is not a license to flout orders of the Court.
8. If he is to avoid the consequences of contempt, Mr Ramesh Gowani must demonstrate a sincere expression of regret and contrition. I do not believe his story of tenancy for one minute. Some records of the 1st Defendant company are indeed with the Court Receiver. Anything else that has been removed by or at the instance of Mr Ramesh Gowani or is otherwise in his possession or in the 1st Defendant company's possession relating to its records must be brought into the hands of the Court Receiver by the end of the day today. It does not matter to me how difficult this proves to be and what arrangements Mr Ramesh Gowani has to make. Second, I will expect by tomorrow morning an Affidavit to the satisfaction of Mr Bookwala personally, expressing regret, to be affirmed in Court before my Court Associate. Third, I am presently retaining Mr Ramesh Gowani's passport. This will be held by the Prothonotary and Senior Master until further orders.
9. Mr Rishabh Gowani's passport is returned to him.
10. Mr Bookwala agrees that even this cannot suffice in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Mr Ramesh Gowani must make a full expression of regret. He agrees that he will make out a cheque payable to the Prothonotary and Senior Master in the amount of Rs. 10 lakhs as an expression of his sincerity. After this Page 5 of 6 7th October 2021 12-IAL14875-2021COMSL14865-2021+.DOC deposit, the Prothonotary and Senior Master will forward the entire amount to a charitable cause or causes of my choosing. I will accept Mr Bookwala's personal recommendations on the recipient. This will be accepted as an expression of appropriate contrition, regret and an assurance that there will be no repetition of this conduct in future.
11. I will not make this demand of Mr Rishabh Gowani having regard to the manner in which he conducted himself particularly volunteering the information which until then no one except Ramesh Gowani knew.
12. The other two addresses mentioned in my order of 1st October 2021 turned out to be the residential premises of some directors of 1st Defendant who resigned in 2017 and 2019.
13. List the matter at 2.30 pm on 8th October 2021. All previous orders will continue.
14. All concerned will act on production of a digitally signed copy of this order.
(G. S. PATEL, J) Page 6 of 6 7th October 2021