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13. It appears that the Executing Court has invoked the provisions of Order XXI Rule 41(2) of the CPC and relied on the judgment of this Court in Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. (supra) in passing the impugned order to direct the petitioners to file their personal list of assets. Before coming to the judgment of this Court in Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. (supra), it may be pertinent to mention here that there is no requirement at all under Order XXI Rule 41 of the CPC for filing of the list of personal assets of the directors/officers of the judgment debtor company. The requirement is only to file particulars of assets of the judgment debtor. Further, the power under Order XXI Rule 41(2) of the CPC can only be invoked upon an application filed on behalf of the decree holder and in the present case, admittedly, no application has been filed by the decree holder under Order XXI Rule 41(2) of the CPC.

14. In Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. (supra), a Single Bench of this Court directed that in cases of execution of money decrees, the judgment debtor, at the initial stage itself should be directed to file particulars of assets as on the date of the institution of the suit as well as of the current date under Order XXI Rule 41(2) of the CPC along with the statement of the bank accounts for the last three years. It was further provided that if the judgment debtor's affidavit does not sufficiently disclose assets, a further affidavit may also be directed to be filed and the judgment debtor be also examined orally under Order XXI Rule 41(1) of the CPC. This constituted the dicta of Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. (supra). Thereafter, the Court in Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. (supra) directed, inter alia, the directors of the judgment debtor company therein to file the details of their personal assets. However, the aforesaid directions with regard to the directors filing affidavits of their personal assets was only in the facts and circumstances of the said case and was not the dicta of the said case. Therefore, the reliance placed by the Executing Court on the judgment in Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. (supra) for directing the petitioners to file their affidavit of personal assets is clearly erroneous.

17. In Delhi Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. (supra), a Division Bench of this Court (of which I was a part) observed that a direction under Order XXI Rule 41(2) of the CPC can only be made upon an application filed by the decree holder in that behalf. As per the provisions of Order XXI, the decree holder has to first make efforts to Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Maharia Raj Joint Venture and Ors., (2020) 266 DLT 106; Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Maharia Raj Joint Venture and Ors., 2020 SCC OnLine Del 1969; Bhandari Engineers and Builders Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Maharia Raj Joint Venture and Ors., 2021 SCC OnLine Del 3595.

"57. We are thus of the view that Bhandari Engineers & Builders Pvt Ltd. supra, to the extent extends what is laid down therein to execution proceedings pertaining to all money decrees and to all courts executing a money decree, cannot said to be good law. Axiomatically, what is held in Bhandari Engineers & Builders Pvt. Ltd. supra could not have been followed in the execution proceedings from which this appeal arises.