SH. LAGADAPATI MADHUSUDHAN RAO Vs. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition seeks quashing and setting aside of Show Cause Notice ("SCN") dtd. 5/9/2023 issued by ICICI Bank, SCN dtd. 4/10/2023 issued by J&K Bank, SCN dtd. 7/10/2023 issued by Canara Bank, SCN dtd. 6/11/2023 issued by State Bank of India ("SBI"), SCN dtd. 8/11/2023 issued by the Bank of Baroda, SCN dtd. 21/11/2023 issued by Punjab National Bank ("PNB"), SCN dtd. 5/1/2024 issued by Central Bank of India, SCN dtd. 15/1/2024 issued by the Union Bank of India, and, SCN dtd. 9/2/2024 issued by IDBI Bank.

(2.) The aforesaid SCNs have been issued to the petitioners for classification of the accounts of the petitioners as 'Fraud' under the 'Master Directions on Frauds-Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks and Select FIs' ("RBI Master Directions"), issued by the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI"). The present petition came to be filed, since no documents were provided to the petitioners pursuant to issuance of the aforesaid SCNs.

(3.) The petitioners are the Director/Vice Chairman/Managing Director/Guarantor of M/s LANCO Infratech Limited (the company, currently under liquidation). Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that the respondent-banks have failed to consider that the petitioners have not been a party of the management of the company since 2017 and the management of the company is with the Resolution Professional ("RP") since the year 2017 and with the Liquidator since the year 2018. Thus, the petitioners do not have access to the records and documents of the company. Accordingly, it is not possible for the petitioners to give an effective and proper reply, in the absence of the relevant documents.