SANJAY KUMAR Vs. CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been taken up for hearing through video conferencing.

(2.) The present petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, preferred by a successful bidder in an e-auction conducted by the respondent Bank on 31/3/2020 under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 ('SARFAESI Act' for short), seeks directions to the Bank to issue a sale certificate in favour of the petitioner as also for condonation of the five days' delay occasioned in depositing the requisite amount with the Bank, in terms of the bid.

(3.) The present dispute arises out of an e-auction conducted under the SARFAESI Act for the sale of an industrial property situated at Plot No. 34, Block-B, Sector-63, Phase III, Noida U.P. admeasuring 800 sq.mtr. ('the auction property' in short). The petitioner and his two brothers are the owners of M/s Kartik Real Nest Services ('the firm' for short), a real estate partnership firm having its office in Sector 63, Noida, U.P. As per the public notice for the e-auction published on 14/3/2020 in the Hindi daily 'Jansatta', the auction took place on 31/3/2020 between 11AM and 1PM at a reserve price of Rs.4.25 crores. The firm, having met all the eligibility criteria prescribed in the notice, bid a sum of Rs.4.3 crore for purchase of the auction property. Once the auction had drawn to a close, the firm received an e-mail from the respondent Bank at 1:52 PM on 31/3/2020 informing them that their bid was successful and that they were required to deposit 25% of the bid amount, i.e., a sum of Rs.1,07,50,000.00 with the respondent Bank within a period of 24 hours. As the firm, in accordance with a pre- condition of the auction, had already deposited a sum of Rs.42.5 lakhs with the respondent Bank as earnest money, it needed to deposit only a further sum of Rs.65.00 lakhs with the Bank by 1/4/2020.