Calcutta High Court
Sanchayani Savings & Investment (I) Ltd vs Reserve Bank Of India & Anr on 3 February, 2020
Author: Sanjib Banerjee
Bench: Sanjib Banerjee, Kausik Chanda
O-3
APO No. 208 of 2017
ACO No. 150 of 2016
ACO No. 136 of 2016
ACO No. 72 of 2017
ACO No. 8 of 2019
ACO No. 13 of 2019
ACO No. 2 of 2019
in
CP No. 211 of 2015
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Civil Appellate Jurisdiction
ORIGINAL SIDE
SANCHAYANI SAVINGS & INVESTMENT (I) LTD.
Versus
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA & ANR.
BEFORE:
The Hon'ble JUSTICE SANJIB BANERJEE
And
The Hon'ble JUSTICE KAUSIK CHANDA
Date : February 3, 2020
Appearance:
Mr. Biswabrata Basu Mullick, Adv.
..for the appellant
Mr. S. E. Huda, Adv.
Mr. D. K. Sinha, Adv.
Mr. Sakya Sen, Adv.
Mr. Suvadeep Sen, Adv.
Mr. Sanjay Bansal, Adv.
Mr. Ratnanko Banerji, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Arik Banerjee, Adv.
Mr. Rajib Mullick, Adv.
Ms. Saheli Sen, Adv.
Mr. Rakesh Sarkar, Adv.
Mr. Chiranjib Sinha, Adv.
Mr. Kaustav Bagchi, Adv.
Mr. Debasish Kr. Sinha, Adv.
Mr. Dilip Kr. Kundu, Adv.
Mr. Arjun Basu, Adv.
2
The Court : Pursuant to the order dated December 16, 2019, two reports
have been filed: one by the firm of special officers dated January 31, 2020 which
covers the flats at the Belapur Sun City Cooperative Housing Complex in Navi
Mumbai; and, a report by the Hon'ble Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee
dated January 22, 2020 pertaining to the sale of the assets of the company.
Re: Flats at the Belapur Sun City Cooperative Housing Complex
Out of the 150 flats allotted to the different unit holders, three flats have
remained unsold. Registration has not been completed in respect of 57 flats.
Out of such 57 flats, the society claims that full payment has been received in
respect of 35 flats.
The special officers report that a meeting was convened on January 17,
2020 for verification of the original documents and payment details of the owners
claiming the 35 flats. Notices were issued to the allottees, but only 29 allottees
attended the meeting. After verifying the documents and details of payments
relating to the 29 units in the Sanchayani City Project, CBD Belapur, Navi
Mumbai, the special officers found the papers and particulars pertaining to 24
allottees to be in order. Hence, the special officers should take immediate steps
to execute the deeds of conveyance and complete the registration in respect of the
following 24 allottees:
Sl. Unit No. Name of the Persons in whose favour
No. Deed of Conveyance to be executed
1. Shop No. 6 Lilavati J Karia & Nilima M Tanna
2. Shop No. 9 Mira G Gehani
3. Shop No. 10 Dinesh V. Kalra & Vimmi D Kalra
4. Shop No. 11 Jugesh V Kalra & Alka J. Kalra
5. Shop No. 29 N. Ravichandran
6. Shop No. 32 Neelam P. Sethi
3
7. Flat No. 108 Satguru Credit & Commercial Pvt. Ltd.
8. Flat No. 208 Rajindar Kumar Bhatia
9. Flat No. 403 Soni Gopal Bajaj
10. Flat No. 502 Pyarali Somani
11. Flat No. 509 Arjun Dhawan & Veena Dhawan
12. Flat No. 605 Taher Adamally
13. Flat No. 609 Varkha D Melwani, Deepak Gopaldas Melwani & Simi D. Melwani
14. Flat No. 806 Anupama Poddar
15. Flat No. 808 Haroomal Ramchand Samtani & leeloo Haroomal Samtani
16. Flat No. 809 Hemlata H Sanghavi & Hemant B. Sqanghavi
17. Flat No. 811 Sugandhben B Sanghavi & Kailash B Sanghavi
18. Flat No. 902 Hasan K Bhanji
19. Flat No. 907 Beekaylon Synthetics Pvt. Ltd.
20. Flat No. 909 Sailesh A. Doshi
21. Flat No. 910 Samir C. Sanghavi
22. Flat No. 911 Romal Tulsidas Panchmatia & Jayesh Tulsidas Panchmatia
23. Flat No. 1102 Yashpal R Tandon & Vibha Y. Tandon
24. Flat No. 1107 Rajindar Kumar Bhatia The costs and expenses for the execution of the deeds of conveyance and registration will be borne by the respective allottees.
Out of the 35 allottees, three appear to have transferred their units in favour of third parties without obtaining prior approval from the joint venture or the special officers as per Clause 16 of the individual allotment letters. The special officers report that the transferees have all produced necessary documents showing transfer of the units in their favour. The special officers seek directions for dealing with such transferees.
The transferees in respect of flat nos.402, 406 and 1108, originally allotted in favour of Setron Synthetics Private Limited, G. B. Nathani and Setron Synthetics Private Limited, respectively, should produce no-objection certificates from the original allottees indicating that they have no objection to the relevant units being transferred in favour of the respective transferees. Such letters must 4 not be dated earlier than February 3, 2020. Upon production of such letters, which should be done within a month from the transferees being forwarded copies of this order, the registration of the relevant units should be completed and the deeds of conveyance executed within a further two months thereof. Each of the transferees will be required to pay a consolidated amount of Rs.1 lakh for the execution of the deeds of conveyance by the special officers on behalf of the company. Such payment will be in addition to the respective transferees bearing the expenses for the execution of the deeds of conveyance and the registration.
In respect of flat nos.301 and 603, the original allottees are reported to have died. The special officers should call upon the current occupants to produce relevant succession certificates or like documents entitling the heirs of the original allottees to obtain the properties. Upon such documents being produced, the special officers will proceed to execute deeds of conveyance in favour of the relevant heirs and effect registration of the sale. Again, all costs, charges and expenses for the execution of the deeds of conveyance and for registration would have to be borne by the heirs of the original allottees.
In respect of four of the 35 flats referred to above, being unit nos. 21, 901, 903 and 906, the special officers report that the allottees have defaulted in payment of both principal and interest. Two of such allottees have applied by way of ACO No.8 of 2019 and ACO No.13 of 2019. In respect of unit no.901, the allottee has paid no heed to two notices apparently issued by the special officers and the allottee, in respect of unit no.906, has instituted a suit before a civil court in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. All the four allottees (which expression shall always cover the heirs of the allottees in case of death of the original allottees) 5 and the two others out of the 35, who have not responded to the notices, will have three months from today to clear their entire dues, whether on account of principal or on account of interest. The outstanding amounts will carry interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum (simple) from the dates of default till the dates of payment. Though the special officers submit that an inquiry committee, set up by the Supreme Court, had recommended interest to be paid at the rate of 12 per cent per annum, the rate of interest has been modified. As far as the balance 22 allottees out of the 57 units are concerned, both the society and the special officers should take immediate steps to ascertain their status and follow the method approved in this order as far as the same may be applicable to such remaining unit-holders.
The joint venture partner seeks reimbursement of the costs for construction. The special officers submit that an independent auditor was required to be appointed by the joint venture partner so that the amounts expended could have been checked at every stage and certified. A firm of auditors has been appointed for carrying out such exercise and it is hoped that the audit is completed within the next month.
According to the joint venture partner, a sum in excess of Rs.4 crore has to be reimbursed to such partner on account of the construction costs and other expenses incurred. A submission is made on behalf of such partner for the release of an ad hoc amount pending vetting and audit of the accounts by the firm of auditors engaged recently.
The special officers submit that a sum of Rs.1.16 crore is available from the monies received from the unit-holders. Out of such funds, a sum of Rs.60 6 lakh should be released as an ad hoc payment to the Belapur Sun City Cooperative Housing Society Limited within a fortnight from date. Such payment will be subject to such amount being due in accordance with the audited report as may be received from the relevant firm of auditors.
As observed in earlier orders, the original joint venture partner, City Builders and Developers, should join in as a confirming party to the deeds of conveyance. In the event such party is unwilling to execute the individual deeds, a notice should be issued immediately to such party, appending a copy of this order and specifically drawing the attention of such party to this part of the order. It will be open to the original partner to indicate its no-objection to the deeds of conveyance being executed in favour of the unit-holders. In such case, the deeds of conveyance should carry a reference to such no-objection as granted pursuant to this order.
Re: Report of the Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee. The Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee has recommended the acceptance of the bids pertaining to the following properties of the company as indicated in the table below:
Sl. Description of Properties Area Bidder details Bid Amount Earnest Balance No (Sq.ft.) Money Amount . Deposit (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
1. Shop No.1 to 6 and 13 to 18 3050 Baldawa Enterprises 8500000.00 818600.00 7681400.00 at 1st Floor of Damani Shopping Complex, Solapur, Maharashtra
2. Flat No.302 in Sanchayani 700 Prashant V. Bhore 1850000.00 165000.00 1685000.00 Complex, Trimurti Nagar, Nagpur.
3. Office Premises in Block 325 Akanksha Mehta 1151000.00 104000.00 1047000.00 No.75, Gulab Bhavan, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
4. Flat No.G-301 in Sanchayani 821 Mahesh Vasantrao 4005000.00 296000.00 3709000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur Kanade and Sharayu Mahesh Kanade
5. Flat No.D-203 in Sanchayani 620 Anand Ramesh 2405000.00 220000.00 2185000.00 7 Prestige Complex, Nagpur Shahadani and Trupti Anand Shahadani
6. Flat No.D-003 in Sanchayani 620 Sharad Amarnath 2257111.00 220000.00 2037111.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur Verma
7. Flat No.G-304 in Sanchayani 821 Prashant Kothiram 3300000.00 296000.00 3004000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur Hadke
8. Flat No.G-401 in Sanchayani 821 Rajesh M. Harsulkar & 3225000.00 296000.00 2929000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur Vandana Rajesh Harsulkar
9. Flat No.F-001 in Sanchayani 620 Rahil Raja Laharia 2450000.00 223000.00 2227000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur
10. Flat No.D-304 in Sanchayani 620 Neha Thombre 2210000.00 220000.00 1990000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur
11. Flat No.B-004 in Sanchayani 821 Prashant Rambhau 3167000.00 296000.00 2871000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur Warkar and Sangeeta Prashant Warkar
12. Flat No.G-402 in Sanchayani 821 Aarati Amol Savle 3100000.00 296000.00 2804000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur
13. Flat No.G-404 in Sanchayani 821 Nalanda Meshram 3100000.00 296000.00 2804000.00 Prestige Complex, Nagpur The abovenamed successful bidders should deposit the balance sale considerations within three months of the receipt of a communication appending a copy of this order. Immediately upon the receipt of the balance consideration or so soon as may be practicable thereafter, the special officers should execute the respective deeds of conveyance in favour of the successful bidders and take steps for the registration thereof. All costs and expenses for the preparation of the deeds of conveyance, the execution and the registration thereof would be borne by the successful bidders.
In default on the part of any successful bidder to deposit the balance consideration within the time indicated, the sale in favour of such bidder will stand cancelled and the security deposit or the money put in till such date of default will stand forfeited without further notice and re-advertisements would be issued for the fresh sale of such properties.
The Chairperson's report indicates that no bids have been received for some of the properties. The relevant observations from the report filed by the Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee are reproduced: 8
"Flat no.13 at Madhumanjari Appartment, Pune, having an area of 980 sq.ft. was advertised showing an upset price of one crore eight lacs ninety thousand (Rs.108.90 lacs). Only one bid was received from Uma Rajesh Baldawa & others with an offer of Rs.71,00,000/- was received. Since the bid is for a sum below the upset price, the Committee resolved to recommend that the bid need not be accepted and earnest money refunded. Since the party who was present wanted his draft for earnest money of Rs.10.89 lacs returned to him if his bid was not recommended for acceptance, the same was returned to the party.
"For the office premises in Cotton Market Road at Amravati on the 3rd Floor and on the 2nd Floor there were no bidders, it was resolved to place the matter before the Court for appropriate Orders.
"Similarly, for the office premises at 62, 63, 64-A and 64-B in the 2nd Floor of Indraprastha Complex at Udaipur, Rajasthan, there was no bidder, it was resolved to recommend that the matter may be placed before the Court.
"Same is the position regarding the basement floor at Sanchayani Complex, Trimurti Nagar, Nagpur, and it was resolved to place the matter before the Court for appropriate Orders."
Appropriate notices be published by the special officers for re-advertising the sale of the four properties, namely, flat no.13 at Madhumanjari Apartment at Pune; office premises at Cotton Market Road at Amaravati, both on the third floor and the second floor; office premises at 62, 63, 64-A and 64-B on the second floor of Indraprastha Complex at Udaipur, Rajasthan; and, the basement floor at Sanchayani Complex, Trimurti Nagar, Nagpur.
The advertisements should indicate the reserved price for each of the properties. Such reserved prices will be determined by the Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee.
Re: Miscellaneous.
9It is reported by the erstwhile management of the company that there are other free-hold properties of the company available in Hyderabad and Aurangabad. The erstwhile management should furnish the fullest particulars of the relevant properties to the special officers for the special officers to take immediate steps for obtaining possession or otherwise gaining control of such properties for the ultimate sale thereof upon advertisements being issued as per the discretion of the Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee.
Since the special officers hold funds in excess of Rs.93 crore, which is available for distribution or refund to the depositors, the special officers should take immediate steps in accordance with the existing scheme to repay the depositors at least a sum of Rs.80 crore over the next three months.
The special officers submit that the monthly remuneration of the special officers was fixed at Rs.1.25 lakh by the Supreme Court by an order of February 11, 2014. According to the special officers, in the light of the substantial work which has to be undertaken and since the remuneration was fixed nearly six years back, an upward revision is called for. The monthly remuneration of the special officers is fixed at Rs.2 lakh with effect from January, 2020. In addition, the special officers will be entitled to reimbursement of the expenses on actuals.
The special officers should ensure that the accounts are audited. As to both the accounts and the expenses reimbursed to the special officers, it will be open to the Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee to vet the same and report any anomaly, if detected.
The special officers should furnish an abstract of all the monies collected thus far, recorded annually, and all the disbursements made, including on 10 account of fees and expenses and payment to depositors, again on an annual basis. Such summary should be placed first before the Chairperson of the Assets Sale Committee and, if accepted by the Chairperson, should be made available to Court.
ACO No.8 of 2019 and ACO No.13 of 2019 are disposed of without any order as to costs.
The matter will next appear on March 2, 2020.
(SANJIB BANERJEE, J.) (KAUSIK CHANDA , J.) bp./kc.