Madras High Court
M/S Sketch Quartz Private Limited vs Hdfc Bank Limited And 3 Others on 6 April, 2026
Author: Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
Bench: Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
O.A.Nos.288 and 289 of 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 06.04.2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE SENTHILKUMAR RAMAMOORTHY
O.A.Nos.288 and 289 of 2026
in C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.101 of 2026
Sketch Quartz Private Limited
Represented herein by its Authorised Signatory
Mr. H.S Sharma Rao,
Having its Registered Office at
605, DELPHI II, Prestige Acropolis,
Hosur Main Road, Bengaluru, Bengaluru Urban,
Karnataka 560 029
Having principal place of business at
SY No.161, PlotNo.E5,
SIPCOT Industrial Complex,
Phase II, Expn1, Hosur, Krishnagiri District,
Tamil Nadu - 635 109.
..Applicant in both
applications
Vs
1. HDFC Bank Limited
Represented by its Branch Manager,
Hosur Branch, 42/2, KTR Tower, 1st Floor,
Krishnagiri Bye Pass Road,
Near GRT Jewels, Hosur-635 109.
2. HDFC Bank Limited
Represented by its Regional Manager
(Trade Finance Operations),
759, ITC Centre, Anna Salai,
Chenniai 600 002.
(SWIFT Code HDFCINBBCHE)
3. Industrial and Commercial Bank
of China Limited
(Guangdong Provincial Branch),
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province,
Peoples Republic of China
(SWIFT Code ICBKCNBJGDG)
__________
Page1 of 4
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
O.A.Nos.288 and 289 of 2026
4. Veneto Machinery Co. Ltd.,
(also known as Zhaoqing Veneto Machinery
Co Ltd.,)
Jintao Industrial Development Zone,
Jinli Town, Zhaoqing City,
Guangdong Province, China,
Represented by its Director/Secretary
..Respondents in both
applications
For Applicant: Mr.R.Sankaranarayanan,
Senior Counsel
for Mr.Arjun Suresh
ORDER
In a suit seeking injunctive relief in respect of Letter of Credit No.004LC01222940019 dated 02.11.2022 and for anti-suit injunction, the plaintiff has applied for interim relief.
2. Learned senior counsel for the plaintiff submitted that procurement contract dated 08.10.2021 was entered into between the plaintiff and the fourth defendant in relation to the supply, installation and commissioning of quartz slabs molding line and decoration line vitium. He also submits that a sum of USD 2,509,058 was paid as advance. As regards the payment of USD 4,880,000, he submits that the letter of credit was opened and that payment was initially conditional on the fourth defendant meeting production criteria. Referring to e-mail exchanges __________ Page2 of 4 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis O.A.Nos.288 and 289 of 2026 between the parties, learned senior counsel submits that a fraud was played on the plaintiff with regard to deletion of said condition. Adverting to the arbitral award, learned senior counsel points out that the Arbitral Tribunal declined to examine the claims made in respect of the letter of credit. Unless ad interim relief is granted, he submits that irreparable hardship would be caused.
3. On perusal of the materials on record, I find that the letter of credit as originally issued contained the condition that the bank would make payment once the production criteria are met. Such condition appears to have been deleted pursuant to extensive e-mail exchanges wherein the plaintiff was induced to delete the condition. The plaintiff asserts that the terms of the procurement contract were not fulfilled by the fourth defendant and it appears from the arbitral award that this contention has been at least partly accepted.
4. The fourth defendant is an entity incorporated in China. If the third defendant bank, which is a bank incorporated in China, receives the entire amount payable under the letter of credit, it is likely to cause irreparable injury to the plaintiff in the facts and circumstances outlined above. Therefore, subject to the condition that the plaintiff shall ensure that the validity of the letter of credit is extended for a minimum period of three months from today, there will be an order of ad interim injunction as prayed for in O.A.No.288 of 2026 until the next date of hearing.
__________ Page3 of 4 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis O.A.Nos.288 and 289 of 2026 SENTHILKUMAR RAMAMOORTHY, J.
mmi
5. Issue notice to the respondents in these applications returnable on 29.04.2026. Private notice is also permitted.
6. The applicant/plaintiff shall comply with order XXXIX Rule 3 of Code of Civil Procedure.
7. List on 29.04.2026.
06.04.2026 mmi O.A.Nos.288 and 289 of 2026 in C.S. (Comm. Div.) No.101 of 2026 __________ Page4 of 4 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis