AVIJIT MONDAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS mandamus-appeal is at the instance of a writ-petitioner and is directed against an order dated 11th September, 2009 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court by which His Lordship disposed of the said writ-application by directing the respondent-Bank to serve a copy of the application under Section 19 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Bank and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) upon the learned advocate for the appellant within a week from the date of order with the observation that the time for filing written statement against the claim of the Bank should start running from the date of service of copy of such application.

(2.) BEING dissatisfied, the writ-petitioner has come up with the present appeal.

(3.) THERE is no dispute that the respondent-Bank filed an application under section 19 of the Act thereby claiming a sum of Rs. 3,08,9,880/- before the Debts recovery Tribunal, Calcutta Bench. The grievance of the writ-petitioner in the writ-application out of which the present appeal arises was that only the summons of the proceedings before the Tribunal had been served upon him but such summons was not accompanied by the copy of the application under Section 19 of the Act along with its annexure as provided in Rule 11 of the Debts recovery Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the rules ). According to the writ-petitioner, so long the said provision of the rules had not been complied with by serving a copy of the application along with the summons through Registered Post by the Registrar of the Tribunal, there was no valid service of summons in accordance with the said provision and as such, the writ- petitioner was unable to file written statement to the said application. At the time of hearing of the said writ-application, the learned advocate appearing on behalf of the Bank did not dispute the fact that the summons was not accompanied by a copy of the application under Section 19 of the Act and hence, he offered to serve such copy upon the learned advocate-on-record for the writ-petitioner and the learned Single Judge accepted the said offer by giving a direction upon the learned advocate for the Bank to serve such copy upon the learned advocate for the writ-petitioner within seven days with clear direction that the time to file written statement against the claim of the Bank would start running from the date of the service of copy of such application with annexure upon his learned advocate.