LMJ INTERNATIONAL LTD Vs. DANKUNI STEELS LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) There is some litigation pending between the appellant herein and respondent Nos. 1 to 4. Though, it is not necessary to state in detail the nature of dispute between them, some aspects thereof which are relevant for this case shall be taken note of at the appropriate stage. At this juncture, it is pertinent to note that the Division Bench of the High Court in those proceedings between the appellant and respondent Nos. 1 to 4 had passed direction for sale of 10000 Metric Tons (MT) of Metallurgical Coke (Met Coke) by public auction. The Special Officer was appointed for this purpose who conducted the sale. Four bids were received. Bid of respondent No. 5 was the highest as it offered the price of Rs. 14000/- per MT. By the impugned order dated May 15, 2017, the High Court has accepted the said offer after rejecting the objections of the appellant. The appellant herein feels aggrieved by the acceptance of that offer by the High Court.

(2.) The relevant facts which need to be noticed for resolving the controversy are stated below: Respondent No. 2 herein is Handling-cum-Clearing Agent for and on behalf of respondent No. 1 and respondent No.4. On the intimation given by respondent No. 4 that some consignment of Met Coke was arriving at Vishakapatnam Port, respondent No. 2 was given instructions to clear the consignment on his behalf. The appellant herein, which is an export house, claimed that it had a title over 10000 MT of the aforesaid consignment of Met Coke out of the entire consignment. Goods were cleared by respondent No. 2 and the cargo was stored at the custom bonded warehouse. However, respondent No. 2 turned down the request of the appellant to keep separate stock of 10000 MT of Coke over which it was making his claim. This led to filing of application by respondent No. 2 under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 in which certain orders were passed. Respondent No. 1 also filed Civil Suit No. 17 of 2013 seeking decree for delivery of entire consignment. These proceedings travelled upto the High Court wherein order dated July 29, 2015 was passed giving directions to sell 10000 MT of Met Coke out of the aforesaid stock. The High Court in that order noted that the issue as to whether the appellant had justified claim over 10000 MT of Met Coke or not is to be decided by the Court after trial. Since no definite conclusion could be arrived at this stage on the basis of affidavits alone, the High Court deemed it proper that the said quantity, namely, 10000 MT of Coke be sold and the proceedings thereof be kept apart so that this money is ultimately handed over to the parties succeeding in the suit. The relevant portion of the directions contained in the order dated July 29, 2015 is as under:

(3.) Pursuant thereto, the Special Officer got public notice published in the daily newspapers 'The Hindu' and 'Andhra Jyoti' for sale of 10000 MT of coke fixing reserved/base price of Rs. 13000 per MT. Four offers were received along with 10% of earnest money. All these four bids were submitted by the Special Officer with his report to the High Court on April 3, 2017. Offer of respondent No.5 herein at Rs. 14000 per MT was the highest.