Full Text
HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Date of Decision: 20th July, 2023
CITICORP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED ..... Petitioner
Through:
Through: Mr. Dhruv Wadhwa, Advocate. (M:
9953598454)
Mr. Hashmat Nabi, Ms Divya Kaur and Mr. Kunal Arora, Advocate for
PNB. (M: 9911195915)
Mr. Bheem Sain Jain, Advocate for SBI. (M: 9990669208)
Mr. Aishvary Vikram, Mr. Tarun Gulia, Mr. V.C. Shukla, Mr. Anantha Narayana M.G., Mr. Ajay Awasthi, Mr. Sushant Bajaj, Mr. Varun Gulia, Mr. Rohit Choudhary, Advocate for
Applicant in CO. APPL. 223/2023.
(M: 9971450568)
Ms Ruchi Sindhwani Sr Standing Counsel, Ms Megha Bharara, Advocate for OL. (M: 9811533510)
Mr. Jeewesh Prakash, Mr. Sandeep Agarwal, Mr. Sankalp Srivastava, Ms. Ritu Dubey, Advocates. (M:
9999306490)
Mr. Shobhit Narula, Ms. Priya Chhajer & Mr. Shaantanu Devansh, Advocates. (M:9873122945)
JUDGMENT
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode. CO.APPL. 283/2023 (for delay)
2. This is an application for condonation of delay of 36 days in filing reply. For the reasons stated in the application, the delay is condoned. Application is disposed of. CO.APPL. 521/2023 (for early hearing)
3. This is an application for early hearing of the application CA 725/2018. Early hearing is allowed. Application is disposed of. CO.APPL. 223/2023
4. The present application has been filed by the Applicant- Vikas Balhara seeking the following prayers: “a. Direct the Official Liquidator to handover possession of the Subject Property i.e. Property No. A- 1/13, Freedom Fighter Colony, Neb Sarai, New Delhi- 110068; b. Direct the Official Liquidator to pay the accrued rental amount for the Subject Property i.e. Rs. 7,20,0001- (Rupees Seven Lakhs Twenty Thousand) along with interest at the rate of 18% per annum till the date of Legal Notice dated 16.01.2023. c. Direct the Official Liquidator to pay any further rent which may accrue for the Subject Property till the outcome of the present application; d. Pass such other and further orders this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the present case.”
5. The applicant claims to be the landlord of property bearing no. No. A- 1/13, Freedom Fighter Colony, Neb Sarai, New Delhi-110068 (hereinafter ‘subject property’). The said Applicant had given the subject property to the Respondent- M/s Shiv-Vani Oil & Gas Exploration Services Limited, which is the company in liquidation vide rent agreement dated 17th September,
2016. The monthly rent was a sum of Rs.24,000/-. The company went into liquidation pursuant to orders dated 28th July, 2017 passed by this Court, and the property was sealed by the Official Liquidator (OL) on 16th September, 2021.
6. The case of the landlord is that despite repeated communications to the OL, the property is not being released, though the company has no right in respect of the subject property. The first such communication has been written by the Applicant on 2nd January, 2023. It is also submitted that the OL was well aware of the fact that the property does not belong to the company, as is evident from the OL’s note when the sealing was effected.
7. On the last date of hearing, the OL was to file a report in respect of the said property. OLR 61/2023 has been received wherein in paragraph 4 to 6 the OLR has stated as under:
8. As per the above report, the documents of the Applicant have been of the opinion that the moveables or records which are lying in the subject property ought to be shifted so that the landlord is no longer deprived of the property.
9. There can be no doubt that generally when the OL seizes any immovable property, the OL ought to verify as to whether the property belongs to the company and if there is any verifiable rent agreement which the company has entered into prior to the liquidation order. In cases where properties are taken on rent by a company that is going into liquidation, the OL has a duty to ensure that the landlords/ owners of the land are not inconvenienced, unless there is some doubt as to the genuinity or credibility of the landlord’s claim. In any event, even if the sealing has been done, immediate and urgent steps need to be taken to verify the documents so that properties can be released in favour of the landlords and they are not deprived of enjoying rental incomes or put the property to their own use.
10. The Karnataka High Court in Company Application No. 8 of 2016 titled N.R. Ravi v. The Official Liquidator of Sem India Systems Private Limited, has held that when the Official Liquidator takes over possession of a Company's premises which is owned by a third-party land owner, the OL needs to pay the third-party land owner the rentals as costs of winding proceedings. The relevant extracts of the said judgement are extracted as under:
11. In the present case, the compliance report of the OL dated 11th July, 2023 clearly record the receiving of a letter dated 19th September, 2021 which acknowledging the subject property as that of the landlord. The relevant extract of the said report is extracted as under:
7. It is however submitted that this office, while taking over possession of the said property, was unable to inspect the same as it was already locked and therefore no inventory was prepared. This office also received a letter dated 14.09.2021 from the ex-director Mr. Padam Singhee, requesting this office to remove the records from the said premises as the landlord had been threatening to remove the records himself. In light of the above, the records etc. lying thereat would have to be shifted from the said property to the Registered office of the Company In Liqn.) at 5th floor, Tower one, Sector 5, Pushp Vihar, Saket, New Delhi- 110017, before handing over possession to the landlord Copy of letter dated 19.062021 is annexed as Annexure-B.
12. Thus, there was no justifiable cause for the OL to retain this property for the last more than 15 months when the minutes themselves state clearly that the Applicant is the landlord. The OL, in such cases, also has a duty, after sealing, to call the landlord and verify the documents and release the property.
13. The landlord has a claim for a sum of Rs.7,20,000/- which as per the landlord, was the monthly rental that was due for the entire period. However, considering the fact that the property was sealed in September, 2021 and the first letter of the landlord is of January, 2023 there has been some delay even by the landlord in approaching the OL as also this Court.
14. Accordingly, it is directed that whatever records or other moveables are lying in the said property, which belong to the Company, shall be shifted to the registered office of the company at Tower 1, Fifth Floor, NBCC Plaza, SecV, Pushp Vihar, Saket, New Delhi-110017 within a period of two weeks from today. The landlord shall be given vacant and peaceful possession of the property. However, in the overall facts and circumstances of the case costs of Rs.50,000/- are awarded in favour of the landlord for the delay in handing over the property by the OL.
15. Insofar as the sum of Rs.7,20,000/- is concerned, the applicantlandlord is permitted to avail of his remedies in accordance with law.
16. Application is disposed of. CO.PET. 446/2013 & CO.APPLs. 1053/2017, 128/2019, 382/2019, 95/2021, 617/2022, 629/2022, 17/2023, 131/2023, 267/2023,268/2023, OLR 9/2022 & 61/2023
17. List on 25th July, 2023.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE JULY 20, 2023 dj/am