Telangana High Court
Uppula Srinivas vs Kanakadurga Chit Funds Private ... on 9 June, 2025
Author: K. Lakshman
Bench: K. Lakshman
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE K. LAKSHMAN
CIVIL REVISION PETITION No. 1685 of 2025
ORDER:
Heard Sri Bathula Rajesh, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Sri N. Amarnath, learned counsel appearing for Chit Fund Company/1st respondent.
2. This Civil Revision Petition is filed under Section 115 of Civil Procedure Code challenging salary attachment order dated 09.10.2024 passed by the learned Special Judicial Magistrate of First Class (Excise)-cum- IV Additional Junior Civil Judge, Karimnagar, in E.P.No.263 of 2024 in ARB.No.678 of 2022.
3. Perusal of the record would reveal that 2nd respondent is the subscriber. Petitioner and Respondent Nos.3 and 4 stood as guarantors to 2nd respondent. 1st respondent/Decree Holder, Chit Fund Company, had filed an application, vide ARB.No.678 of 2022, under Section 64 of the Chit Funds Act, 1982 (for short 'the Act'), before the learned Chit 2 KL, J C.R.P.No.1685 of 2025 Arbitrator/Deputy Registrar of Chits, at Karimnagar, against petitioner and respondent Nos.2 to 4 claiming an amount of Rs.58,210/- along with interest @18% per annum on the principal amount of Rs.47,182/- from the date of filing of dispute till the date of realization. Vide Award dated 05.08.2023, the learned Chit Arbitrator/Deputy Registrar of Chits held that petitioner and respondent Nos.2 to 4 are jointly and severally liable to pay a sum of Rs.58,210/- along with interest @18% per annum on the principal amount of Rs.47,182/- from the date of filing of dispute i.e., 01.11.2022 till the date of realization.
4. Thereafter, 1st respondent had filed an Execution Petition vide E.P.No.263 of 2024 before the learned Special Judicial Magistrate of First Class (Excise)-cum- IV Additional Junior Civil Judge, Karimnagar, for realization of the said awarded amount from petitioner/Judgment Debtor No.3 and respondent No.3/Judgment Debtor No.2 only. Thereupon, the learned Executing Court issued salary attachment order dated 3 KL, J C.R.P.No.1685 of 2025 09.10.2024 directing the Disbursing Officer of petitioner/Judgment Debtor No.3 to withheld a sum of Rs.78,435/- from the salary of petitioner and remit the said amount to the account of the said E.P. of the Executing Court. Challenging the said salary attachment order, petitioner filed the present Civil Revision Petition.
5. Learned counsel for petitioner contended that 1st respondent cannot realize the entire amount of Rs.78,435/- from the salary of petitioner and without considering the said aspect, the learned Executing Court passed the impugned salary attachment order dated 09.10.2024 directing the Disbursing Officer to withheld the aforesaid amount from the salary of petitioner. If recovery is made pursuant to the said salary attachment order, it amounts to recovery of double the awarded amount. Therefore, the same is impermissible.
6. Learned counsel for 1st respondent, on instructions, would submit that on realization of entire awarded amount from petitioner/Judgment Debtor No.3, 1st respondent will take 4 KL, J C.R.P.No.1685 of 2025 steps to terminate the execution proceedings. They will not recover double the awarded amount, as contended by learned counsel for petitioner.
7. Admittedly, against the said Award dated 05.08.2023, petitioner and respondent Nos.2 to 4 did not prefer any appeal in terms of Section 70 of the Act. Therefore, the said Award attained finality.
8. It is relevant to note that Section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short 'CPC'), deals with property liable to attachment and sale in execution of decree. Sub-section (1)(i)(ia) of Section 60 of CPC is relevant to the present case and the same is extracted below.
"60. Property liable to attachment and sale in execution of decree .-1
(1) The following property is liable to attachment and sale in execution of a decree, namely, lands, houses or other buildings, goods, money, bank-notes, cheques, bills of exchange, hundis, promissory notes, Government securities, bonds or other securities for money, debts, shares in a corporation and, save as hereinafter mentioned, all other saleable property, movable or immovable, belonging to the judgment-debtor, or over which, or the profits of which, he has a disposing power which he may exercise for his own benefit, 5 KL, J C.R.P.No.1685 of 2025 whether the same be held in the name of the judgment-debtor or by another person in trust for him or on his behalf:
xxxx [(i) salary to the extent of 9 [the first 10 [one thousand rupees] and two third of the remainder] 11[in execution of any decree other than a decree for maintenance]:
Provided that where any part of such portion of the salary as is liable to attachment has been under attachment, whether continuously or intermittently, for a total period of twenty-four months, such portion shall be exempt from attachment until the expiry of a further period of twelve months, and, where such attachment has been made in execution of one and the same decree, shall, after the attachment has continued for a total period of twenty-four months, be finally exempt from attachment in execution of that decree.]] 13 [(ia) one-third of the salary in execution of any decree for maintenance;]"
9. It is further relevant to note that in Oriental Kuries Ltd. v. Lissa and others 1, the Apex Court observed that the stipulation of empowering the chit-foreman to recover the entire balance amount in a lump sum in the event of the default being considered by a prized subscriber, is to ensure punctual payment by each of the individual subscribers of the chit fund. Without punctual payments, the system would become 1 (2019) 19 SCC 732 6 KL, J C.R.P.No.1685 of 2025 unworkable, and the chit-foreman would not be in a position to discharge his obligations to the other members of the chit fund.
10. It is also relevant to note that vide order dated 18.04.2016 in CRP.No.436 of 2016, the Division Bench of united High Court of Andhra Pradesh set aside the order passed by the Executing Court in apportioning the liability among the Judgment Debtors.
11. In the light of aforesaid discussion, this Civil Revision Petition is disposed of directing the learned Executing Court to consider the aforesaid aspects, more particularly, the principle laid down in Oriental Kuries Ltd. (supra), Section 60(1)(i)(ia) of CPC and Sections 128 and 146 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, and dispose of E.P.No.263 of 2024 strictly in accordance with law, and on realization of the decretal amount including interest, as awarded by the Chit Arbitrator/Deputy Registrar of Chits at Karimnagar, vide Award dated 05.08.2023 in ARB.No.678 of 2022, 1st respondent, Chit Fund 7 KL, J C.R.P.No.1685 of 2025 Company, shall file full satisfactory memo before the Executing Court with a prayer to close the aforesaid Execution Petition, failing which, the learned Executing Court shall terminate the proceedings in the aforesaid E.P. There shall be no order as to costs.
Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed.
________________ K. LAKSHMAN, J 09th June, 2025.
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