KUNAL GARG Vs. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present writ petition has been filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for quashing notice dated 07.06.2012 (Annexure P -4), issued under Section 13(2) of the Securitization & Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (for brevity, the 'SARFAESI Act') and notice dated 07.11.2012 (Annexure P -7), wherein the authorized officer of the respondent -Bank called upon the petitioner to deliver possession of the secured assets on or after 08.12.2012.

(2.) THE pleaded case of the petitioner is that the petitioner stood as guarantor for securing loan sanctioned to respondent No.3 by mortgaging property measuring 16 kanals 6 -1/9 marla situated at Village Gill Patti, Tehsil and District Bhatinda, which was agricultural land on which popular trees were planted and wheat crops had been sown.

(3.) COUNSEL for the petitioner has vehemently submitted that the property in question is agricultural land and, therefore, the Bank's resort to the provisions of the SARFAESI Act was not justified. Reference was made to Section 31(i) to contend that the SARFAESI Act would not apply to any security interest created in agricultural land. It was next contended that action under Section 13(4) had not been initiated and, therefore, the action of the Bank in directly seeking the assistance of the police authority without approaching the District Magistrate under Section 14 was not permissible.