Court No. - 39
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 36185 of 2018 Petitioner :- Sanjiv Aggarwal Respondent :- Industrial Development Bank Of India Counsel for Petitioner :- Anoop Trivedi,Abhinav Gaur Counsel for Respondent :- Krishna Kant Tiwari
Hon'ble B. Amit Sthalekar,J. Hon'ble Rajiv Joshi,J.
Heard Sri Anoop Trivedi assisted by Sri Abhishek Tripathi and Sri Abhinav Gaur, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Pranjal Mehrotra, learned counsel for the respondent.
The petitioner in the writ petition is aggrieved by the order dated 6.8.2018 whereby the respondent bank has declared him to be a willful defaulter. By the second order dated 15.9.2018, the petitioner has been directed to deposit a sum of Rs.48,40,71,487.84 (Rupees Forty eight crore forty lakh seventy one thousand four hundred eighty seven and paise eighty four) within fifteen days failing which the respondent bank shall take steps for publishing the name of the petitioner with photograph declaring him to be a willful defaulter and further stating that the bank shall thereafter not be responsible for any consequential or resultant loss of reputation or damage which the petitioner may suffer.
The submission of Sri Anoop Trivedi, learned counsel for the petitioner is that this individual action could not have been taken by the respondent bank as it is a part of a consortium of banks.
We find that after passing of the impugned orders, the petitioner has also submitted a representation on 6.10.2018 before the respondent bank, annexure-20 to the writ petition, with a request that he may be given adequate opportunity to defend himself before the bank.
We, therefore, think it appropriate that before any drastic measure is taken by the bank by virtue of the order dated 15.9.2018, the respondent bank should decide the petitioner's representation dated 6.10.2018 which was sent by registered post on the same date and also give him an opportunity of personal hearing.
We, therefore, dispose of the writ petition with a direction to the respondent bank to decide the petitioner's representation dated 6.10.2018 in accordance with law within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the order in its office. The bank shall also give the petitioner an opportunity of personal hearing and filing of any such documents as the petitioner may desire in his defence.
Till such decision is taken by the respondent bank, we direct that the operation of the order dated 6.8.2018 and 15.9.2018 shall remain in abeyance and shall be subject to any final order which may be passed by the respondents.
Order Date :- 31.10.2018 nd