UCO BANK Vs. HEMANT KANORIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal arises from an Order no. 18 dtd. 18/7/2022 passed by the learned Judge, Commercial Court at Alipore in Title Suit no. 9 of 2022 by which an application for temporary injunction as well as an application for vacating the ex parte ad interim order were disposed of directing the Respondent no. 1 to provide the purported audit report before the Court in a sealed cover within a specified time and the respondents were directed to give an opportunity to the plaintiff-respondent before taking any final decision on the basis of the said audit report and after considering the representation and objections and the submissions to pass a reasoned order. The appellants were further directed not to act on the basis of the forensic audit report till the disposal of the suit before this Court. By the impugned order the Court has also clarified that the said order of injunction shall not affect any recovery of possession in any forum or from taking any step in accordance with law.

(2.) The aforesaid two appeals have been filed by the Defendant no. 1 and the other defendants challenging the self-same impugned order but restricted to the respective portions which operate against them. In an appeal filed by the KPMG, the challenge is restricted to a portion of the order by which the audit report was directed to be submitted before the Court in a sealed cover solely on the ground that the forensic audit report being a secret report sought for by the consortium of banks cannot be made available to the plaintiff-respondent as it is an internal communication.

(3.) On the other hand, the consortium of banks have challenged the portion of the order by which they were directed to afford an opportunity to plaintiff-respondent to raise objection and an opportunity of hearing to be given before the appellant proceed to take any action on the basis of the said forensic audit report. The facts emanates from the record revealed that two companies namely SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. (SIFL) and SREI Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL) entered into a commercial transaction with the appellants of FMAT 320 of 2022. The plaintiff-respondent is a director of both the companies until 4/10/2021 and subsequently an administrator was appointed upon supersession of the Board of the aforesaid companies due to intervention of RBI. The consortium of banks thereafter appointed the KPMG to make a forensic audit of the transactions relating to the aforesaid companies so that it may take further action thereupon in terms of the RBI Circular dtd. 1/7/2016. The suit came to be filed primarily for the production and supply of the forensic audit report before the consortium of banks proceeds to take any action and further prayed for declaration that the said forensic audit report is null and void and should be delivered up and cancelled. An application for temporary injunction was taken out and by an order dtd. 20/5/2022 an ex-parte ad interim order was granted.