MS. BANI KAUR BEDI AND OTHERS Vs. HDFC BANK LTD A BANKING COMPANY INCORPORATED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 1956, AND HAVING ITS OFFICE AT 548/D MARUTHI MANSION, 2ND FLOOR CMH ROAD, INDIRANAGAR BANGALORE-560 038 REP BY ITS BRANCH MANAGER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these writ petitions, the petitioners have impugned the order dated 18.9.2012 passed by the Debts Recovery Tribunal, Karnataka, in S.A. No. 231/2011. The order dated 18.9.2012 has been passed by the Debt Recovery Tribunal in an appeal filed by the petitioners under Section 17 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, (for short, 'the Act'). In the appeal, the petitioners had challenged the order under Section 13(4) of the Act. Additional Government..Advocate, though the Government is not a party to the writ petitions, invited my attention to Section 18 of the Act and submitted that an appeal under this provision is provided against the order passed in the appeal under Section 17 thereof. Having confronted with this, the learned counsel for the petitioner seeks to withdraw these writ petitions with liberty to the petitioners to file an appeal under Section 18 of the Securitisation Act. Hence the following order: The writ petitions are disposed of as withdrawn with liberty as prayed.

(2.) IF the petitioners file an appeal within a period of four weeks from today and comply with all formalities contemplated under Section 18 of the Act for maintaining the appeal, the appellate Tribunal shall consider the appeal on merits in accordance with law and after giving an opportunity of being heard to the respondent -Bank. Since the writ petitions were filed within 30 days from the date of the order passed by the Debts Recovery Tribunal, Karnataka, in S.A. No. 231/2011, the parties are directed to maintain status -quo for a period of four weeks from today. It is needless to mention that the petitioners shall intimate this order to the respondent forthwith. The petitioner shall also serve a copy of the appeal on the respondent -Bank well in advance. It is made clear that the order of status -quo shall not be extended further by this Court and the petitioners will have to apply for an interim order before the appellate Tribunal with an advance notice to the respondents. All contentions of the petitioners are kept open.