HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE v. NATH ORAL JUDGMENT Date
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA First Appeal No.20 of 2009 =========================================================== 1. Bihar State Financial Corporation, Fraser Road, Patna through its Managing Director. 2. Branch Manager, Bihar State Financial Corporation, Motihari Branch at Moh- Agarwa, P.O. & P.S.-Motihari, District-East Champaran. -----Defendant-Appellants. Versus 1. M/S Empire Furniture, Belisarai, Motihari, P.S.-Motihari Town, District-East Champaran, Bihar through its partner Smt Kavita Mishra, Wife of Sri Dhruv Narayan Mishra. 2. Kavita Mishra, Wife of Dhrun Narayan Mishra. 3. Dhruv Narayan Mishra, Son of Sundar Deo Mishra. Both Residents of Moh- Belisarai, Motihari, P.S.-Motihari Town, District-East Champaran. ------Plaintiff-Respondents =========================================================== Appearance : For the Appellant/s : Mr. Vinay Krishna Tripathy Mr. K.D.Chatterjee For the Respondent/s : Mr. Ranjan Kumar Dubey, Adv. ====================== ===================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE V. NATH ORAL JUDGMENT Date: 22-11-2013
Legal Reasoning
The defendants-Bihar State Financial Corporation and another have filed this appeal against the judgment and decree dated 29.09.2008 passed by Sub Judge IV, Motihari East Champaran in Money Suit No. 01//04 of 2006 decreeing the suit. 2. The plaintiffs have filed the suit for declaration that all dues belonging to the defendant-corporation against the plaintiffs stands liquidated with effect from 17.05.1996 when the plaintiffs deposited Rs.3 lacs in their account under the O.T.S. scheme of the defendant- corporation and any claim of money by the defendants against the plaintiffs after 17.05.1996 is illegal and void. The further relief has been sought for declaration that the plaintiffs are entitled to return of their Patna High Court FA No.20 of 2009 dt.22-11-2013 2 title deeds. The plaintiffs have also sought for compensation of Rs. 6,50,000/- against the defendant-corporation, the details of which have been mentioned in Schedule I of the plaint. The plaintiffs have impleaded the defendant-Bihar State Financial Corporation through its Managing Director as defendant no.1 and have further impleaded the Branch Manager, Bihar State Financial Corporation, Motihari Branch as defendant no.2 in the suit. 3. Both the defendants have filed their joint written statement contesting the claim of the plaintiffs. It has been asserted by the defendants that the plaintiffs were never directed to deposit Rs. 3 lacs towards the full and final settlement of their dues and it has been also averred that the plaintiffs never filed any application in the prescribed form for availing the O.T.S. scheme. It is further case of the defendants that in such a circumstance the O.T.S scheme expired and the money deposited by the plaintiffs had been deposited in the loan account of the plaintiffs. The defendants have claimed that Rs. 16,97,421/- was the total dues against the plaintiffs up-till 28.02.2007 and, therefore, the title deeds have not been returned to the plaintiffs. 4. After scrutiny of the evidence led by the parties the learned court below has come to the finding that the plaintiffs have deposited the amount of Rs.3 lacs through bank draft in favour of the defendant-corporation on the direction by the defendant no.2 towards the final settlement of the dues under the O.T.S. scheme and after Patna High Court FA No.20 of 2009 dt.22-11-2013 3 17.05.1996 there was no dues outstanding against the plaintiffs, and has therefore held the plaintiffs entitled to return of their title deeds. Accordingly, the suit has been decreed by the impugned judgment and decree. 5. The plaintiffs thereafter have filed Execution Case No.02/10 before the Court of Sub Judge IV, Motihari for execution of the decree by directing the defendants to return the title deeds of the plaintiffs. The appellants have filed interlocutory application (I.A.No.9744/10) in this appeal praying for stay of further proceeding of the said execution case. By order dated 15.05.2013 notice was issued to the respondents in the stay matter and the further proceeding of the said execution case, in the meantime, has been stayed. Thereafter the plaintiff-respondents appeared and have filed their counter affidavit/reply to the aforesaid interlocutory application (I.A.No.9744/10). 6. When the hearing of the interlocutory application (I.A.No.
Legal Reasoning
9744/10) for stay was taken up, the learned counsel for the appellants as well as the learned counsel for the respondents have jointly prayed that in view of the averments made in the interlocutory application and the respective stands of the parties thereupon, this appeal itself be heard and
Decision
finally disposed of at this stage itself. As such with the consent of the parties, this appeal has been heard and is being disposed at this stage. 7. In paragraph 7 of the interlocutory application it has been Patna High Court FA No.20 of 2009 dt.22-11-2013 4 accepted by the appellants that the plaintiffs were required to pay total Rs.5,58,354.56 paise for final settlement of the dues under the O.T.S scheme. Further in paragraph 11 it has been admitted that the plaintiffs have already paid Rs. 3,61,000/- out of the settlement amount of Rs. 5,58,354.56 paise. Mr Ranjan Kumar Dubey, the learned counsel for the respondents has submitted that the respondents are ready to pay the aforesaid remaining amount of Rs.1,97,354.56 paise to the appellants in order to end the litigation and has further prayed that the appeal itself be now disposed of in order to avoid delay, expenses and harassment to the respondents. Mr Vinay Krishan Tripathi, the learned counsel for the appellants after accepting the fact that only Rs 1,97,354.56 paise is the outstanding dues against the respondents has also prayed for disposal of the appeal on the aforesaid terms but has further submitted that the appellants be also allowed interest on the aforesaid amount. 8. Mr Dubey, the learned counsel for the respondents, in reply, has submitted that in view of the facts appearing from the pleadings and evidence of the parties and also in view of the findings by the learned court below in the impugned judgment and decree the plaintiff-respondents cannot be held liable to pay the interest. It has been urged that if the appellants would have promptly and within time disclosed the fact regarding the aforesaid amount as the dues amount required to be further paid under the O.T.S. scheme, the plaintiff- respondents would have paid back the same and would not have been Patna High Court FA No.20 of 2009 dt.22-11-2013 5 therefore liable to interest. However, it has been further submitted by Mr Dubey, the learned counsel for the respondents that, again in order to cut short the litigation and further controversy, the plaintiffs are ready to pay the simple interest at the rate of 5% per annum on the aforesaid amount of Rs. 1, 97,354.56 paise from 12.03.2007 when the written statement in the suit was filed by the defendant-corporation. The learned counsel after calculation has also pointed out that the amount of interest comes to Rs. 66,606.20/- and thus the total amount to be paid by the plaintiff –respondents to the defendant-corporation is Rs. 2, 63,960.76 (1, 97,354.56+66,606.20) only. The learned counsel for the appellant-corporation has accepted this calculation to be correct. 9. In view of the agreement between the parties that only Rs. 1,97,354.56 is the amount to be paid by the plaintiff- respondents to the defendant-appellants for the liquidation of their debt and without going into the further controversy with regard to the quantum or period of interest, in view of the readiness of the plaintiff –respondents to pay the single interest at the rate of 5% per annum also from 12.03.2007 when the written statement in the suit was filed, this appeal is disposed of with direction to the plaintiff-respondents to pay a sum of Rs. 2,63,960.76 which amount has been accepted by them, as aforementioned, to be the total due amount including the interest, to the defendant-corporation and the defendant-corporation is also directed to immediately return the title deeds of the plaintiff-respondents after Patna High Court FA No.20 of 2009 dt.22-11-2013 6 receiving the said amount. The plaintiff- respondents, as agreed, shall deposit the aforesaid amount within three months from today in the Execution Case No.02/10 pending in the court of Sub Judge IV, Motihari. The executing court may allow the prayer for the deposit of the abovesaid amount in installments also within the said period of three months, and shall also issue appropriate direction to defendant- corporation for prompt return of the title deeds of the plaintiffs after the deposit as aforesaid. 10. In result, this appeal is disposed of with aforesaid directions and the impugned decree stands modified accordingly to that extent. Nitesh/- (V. Nath, J)