CONTINENTAL TEXTILE MILLS LTD Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicant M/s Suchit Pavitra(Saraspur) Industrial Co-operative Society is the auction-purchaser whose highest bid for the purchase of some land of the Company in liquidation was accepted by this Court but the bid money was deposited beyond the time granted by the Court and so it is now seeking acceptance of the belated payments made by it.

(2.) The relevant facts may first be noticed. In this voluntary winding up petition filed by M/s Continental Textile Mills Ltd. an order was passed on 13.10.2004 for the winding up of the said Company(hereinafter to be referred to as "the Company in liquidation"). Thereafter, the official liquidator gave a public notice through various newspapers inviting sealed tenders for the purchase of some land of the Company in liquidation in Ahmedabad (hereinafter to be referred to as "the land in question") on "AS IS WHERE IS AND WHATEVER THERE IS BASIS?. The reserve price of that land was fixed at Rs. 9,00,54,000/-. The applicant-auction purchaser and seventeen other parties had submitted their offers ranging from the minimum reserve price to Rs. 21 crores. The applicant-auction purchaser's offer was for Rs. 9,90,00,000/- . However, with a view to get more price for the land in question open bidding was conducted before the Court on 01.02.07 in which all the eighteen parties who had already submitted their offers, including the present applicant-auction purchaser, had participated. The applicant-auction purchaser gave the bid of Rs. 41,05,08,000/- and the same was accepted by this Court being the highest and it was directed to make the payment of 25% of the bid amount within 30 days and the balance 75% amount was ordered to be deposited within 60 days with the official liquidator.

(3.) The applicant-auction purchaser, however, did not make the payments within the time so fixed by this Court and instead paid 25% of the bid amount on 12/03/07 and the balance 75% long time thereafter on 08/08/08. Both these payments were made by the auction-purchaser in the office of the official liquidator without getting extension of time from the Court and the official liquidator also appears to have accepted the belated payments without referring the matter to the Court.