1. Special Civil Application No. 19257/2006 has been preferred by the petitioner-City Corporation Finance (India) Ltd. to quash and set aside the impugned notices at Annexures C and E by which the petitioner was directed to appear before the State authority with necessary record. It appears that the said notices have been issued in exercise of the powers under Section 13(A) of the Bombay Money Lenders Act, 1946.
1.1. Similarly, Special Civil Application NO. 6551/2008 has been preferred by the petitioner-Muthoot Finance Pvt. Ltd challenging the similar notice issued by the respondent calling upon the petitioner under Section 13 of the Bombay Money Lenders Act, 1946 to produce relevant record.
2. Shri B.R. Gupta, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the respective petitioners has submitted that as such in view of the decision of the Division Bench of this Court dated 26/04/2011 in Letters Patent Appeal No. 113/2010 and other Letters Patent Appeals it is held that in absence of any notification under Section 2(10)(iiia), Non-Banking Financial Companies are not covered by the definition of 'money lenders', and the State Government or its authorities have no jurisdiction to take any regulatory measure or penal measures under the Bombay Money Lenders Act, 1946.
3. Having heard the learned advocates appearing on behalf of the respective parties and considering the impugned notices, it appears that by the impugned notices, concerned respondent authority, in exercise of powers under Section 13 of the Bombay Money Lenders Act, 1946, has directed the respective petitioners to produce relevant records and, therefore, it will be open for the respective petitioners to submit and appropriate application within a period of three weeks from today before appropriate authority relying upon the decision of the Division Bench of this Court dated 26/04/2011 in Letters Patent Appeal No. 113/2010 and other allied matters that so far as the respective petitioners are concerned the provisions of the Bombay Money Lenders Act would not be applicable and that the State Government and/or its authorities would have no jurisdiction to take any regulatory measures or penal measures under the Bombay Money Lenders Act, 1946. As and when the same is submitted before the appropriate authority alongwith a copy of the judgment and order dated 26/04/2011 passed in Letters Patent Appeal No. 113/2010 and other allied matters, the appropriate authority is directed to consider the same and take an appropriate decision in light of the Division Bench judgment. Till then, no further action shall be taken against the respective petitioners in pursuance to the impugned notices.
4. With this, both the Special Civil Applications are disposed of.
Direct service is permitted.
(M.R.
SHAH, J.) siji Top