LAWS(MAD)-2014-5-8

DECCAN CHRONICLES HOLDINGS LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

Decided On May 08, 2014
M/s. Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited rep. by its Assistant General Manager, R. Guruprasad Ors. etc. etc. Appellant
V/S
The Union of India, represented by its Joint Secretary, Reserve Bank of India, represented by its Chairman and Managing Director and Canara Bank, through its Authorised Officer and Ors. etc. etc. Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE common thread that runs across all these cases is to the constitutionality of Section 2(1)(o) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, (Act No. 54 of 2002), (in short, SARFAESI Act) as well as the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India pertaining to the classification of assets as Non -Performing Assets.

(2.) IN all these cases, the petitioners have borrowed monies from the respective respondent Banks. They did not repay the amounts borrowed. Thereafter, the Banks initiated proceedings under the SARFAESI Act, 2002 after declaring the assets as "Non Performing Assets" in view of the guidelines issued by way of the Circular by the Reserve Bank of India.

(3.) HEARD Mr. A.R.L. Sundaresan and Mr. N.V. Srinivasan, learned Senior Counsels and Mr. Anirudh Krishnan, Mr. K. Gowtham Kumar, Mr. N. Murali, Mr. S.V. Pravin Rathinam, Mr. S. Seshadri, Mr. A.V. Raja, Mr. E. Ramachandran, Mr. A. Swaminathan, Mr. V. Ayyadurai, Mr. S.N. Kirubanandam, Mr. Venkatesh Mohanraj, Mr. R. Kannan, Mr. S. Regu, Mr. A. Selvendran, Mr. V. Girish Kumar, Ms. Anuradha Balaji, Mr. R. Sugumaran, Mr. A.V. Arun, the learned counsels appearing for the petitioners and Mr. G. Masilamani, learned Additional Solicitor General, Mr. N. Ramesh and Mr. S. Ravichandran, learned Central Government Standing Counsels, Mr. G. Arul Murugan and Mr. S. Udayakumar, learned Additional Central Government Standing Counsels, Mr. T. Poornam, Mr. V. Karthik, Mr. F.B. Benjamin Goerge, Mr. V. Girishkumar, Mr. Om Prakash, Mr. G.R. Lakshmanan, Mr. S.R. Sumathy, Mr. M.L. Ganesh, Mr. Srinath Sridevan, Mr. T. Sundar Rajan, Mr. Shivakumar, Mr. S. Sethuraman and Mr. K.S. Viswanathan, learned counsel appearing for respondents. We have also perused at length the various documents filed, judgments relied upon as well as the provisions of enactments.