MILLENNIUM WIRES (P) LTD Vs. ALLAHABAD BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The background to these applications is that Millennium Wires (P) Limited (Plaintiff No. 1) and State Trading Corporation of India Limited (Plaintiff No. 2) have filed the aforementioned CS (OS) No. 545 of 2012 against Allahabad Bank (Defendant No. 1), Synergic Industrial Material Services PTE Ltd. (Defendant No. 2), Synergic Industrial Material Services Malaysia (Defendant No. 3) and Malayan Banking BHD (Defendant No. 4) for permanent, mandatory and perpetual injunction restraining Defendant No. 1 from honouring the Letters of Credit ('LCs') opened by Plaintiff No. 2 at the request of Plaintiff No. 1 in favour of Defendant No. 2 for the import of 'Continuous Cast Copper Wire Rod'. The LCs was opened through Defendant No. 1 (Issuing Bank) and was payable to Defendant Nos. 2 and 3 through Defendant No. 4 (Negotiating and Beneficiary Bank).

(2.) At the outset it requires to be noticed that two reliefs sought in prayer (b) for an injunction restraining Defendant No. 2 from taking any benefit under the LCs and prayer (c) restraining Defendant No. 4 from making payments under the LCs had already been rendered infructuous by the time the suit was filed on 28th February 2012. On 2nd March 2012, while directing summons to issue in the suit, the Court passed the interim order in IA No. 4103 of 2013 under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 ('CPC') restraining Defendant No. 1 from honouring the LCs and also restraining Defendant No. 2 from taking any benefit and/or taking any action under the LCs.

(3.) It may also be noted that although the suit initially was filed against Defendant Nos. 5 to 12, they were they were deleted from the array of parties at the request of the Plaintiffs since no relief was sought against them.