FACTUAL NOTE IN RESPECT OF BHATHA LAND (BLOCK NO. 610) FOR WHICH NOTICE HAS BEEN PUBLISHED BY THE BANK FOR ITS SALE

Transcription

1 1 FACTUAL NOTE IN RESPECT OF BHATHA LAND (BLOCK NO. 610) FOR WHICH NOTICE HAS BEEN PUBLISHED BY THE BANK FOR ITS SALE Against three mortgages of agricultural lands situated in villages Pal and Bhatha admeasuring 199 acrea and 1 Guntha, late Shri Sheryarji Burjorji Mody obtained loan of Rs. 18,000/- and 35,000/- respectively in the years 1929 and On his failure to repay the said loans on due dates, two separate awards and decrees for the recovery of Rs 29,209 and of Rs. 47,670/- were obtained by the Bank in the years 1936 and 1938 respectively from Court of Board of Nominees, Surat. During the recovery proceedings alongwith interest in the revenue court, the said Sheryarji Burjorji Mody offered to sell the said lands in liu of the said loan amount of Rs. 78,251/- alongwith interest. The Bank accepted the offer and purchased the said lands admeasuring 199 Acres and one Guntha through registered sale deed on 18/4/1941 vide registration No dated 18/4/1941 in Surat Sub - Registry, Surat. On obtaining decrees from the Board of Nominees, Surat by the Bank for the recovery of the said loan, right of redemption available to the said Mortgager was extinguished in the year 1935 as stipulated in the proviso to section 60 of the T.P. Act, Consequently thereafter, the relationship between the Bank and Shri Sheryarji Burjorji Mody had ceased to be that of a mortgagee and a Mortgager. In the sale deed dated 18/4/1941, an option

2 2 was given to the seller Shri Sheryarji Burjorji Mody to purchase the said lands back at the same price by a registered purchased deed within five years (i.e. before 18/4/1946). Shri Sheryarji did not exercise such option. And thus from 18/4/1941, the said lands are in the name of the Bank as an owner in the revenue records till date. Out of the said total lands admeasuring 199 acres and 1 Guntha, the Bank had sold total 163 acres and 23 Guntha in the years 1943, 1947 and 1963 during the lifetime of Shri Sheryarji Burjorji Mody and the purchasers of the said lands are presently enjoying peaceful possession and enjoyment of such sold lands. Shri Sherayrji Mody died on 20/6/1981 and his son Rushi Mody died on 17/5/1986. After 1941, during their life time none of them claimed at any time any ownership right in the said lands. After seventy Years in the year 2011, Rutti Rushi Mody, widow of Sheryarji s son Rushi Mody of Mumbai through her power of attorney holder Shri Pankaj Nathwani of Junagadh, filed a suit No. 43/2011 for the redemption of alleged Mortgage of the said whole lands admeasuring 199 Acres and one Guntha claiming the deed of sale dated 18/4/1941 as a deed of anomalous mortgage and / or Mortgage by conditional sale. In the said suit, in Exhibit 5, status quo was prayed by the plaintiff. The Court of Board of Nominees on 8/8/2011 ordered status quo on Exhibit 5. Against the said order, by way of Revision application

3 3 No. 134/2011, the Bank approached Gujarat State Co-op Tribunal, Ahmedabad which while allowing Revision application of the Bank, quashed and set aside the order dated 8/8/2011 of the Board of Nominees, Surat. Thus there is no stay thereafter against the bank for sale of the said land. Against the order of the Tribunal vacating the stay, the plaintiff filed Spl. C.A. No of 2012 before the High Court of Gujarat Ahmedabad. By an order dated 11/6/2012 the Hon ble Gujarat High Court while confirming the order of the Tribunal, rejected the said petition. Since vacating of the stay by the Tribunal was confirmed by the Gujarat High Court on 11/6/2012, the Bank sold sq. Mts. from the remaining land on 12/6/2012 and the purchasers of the said land are enjoying peaceful possession and enjoyment. This sale made by the Bank is during the pendency of suit No. 43/2011 before the court of Board of Nominees, Surat. Against the said order dated 11/6/2012 of the Gujarat High Court in Spl. C.A. No of 2012, the plaintiff filed LPA No. 872 of 2012 before the Division Bench of the High court of Gujarat. In this LPA, the plaintiff also challenged the sale made by the Bank on 12/6/2012. The Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court in its order dated 22/8/2012 in LPA No. 872 of 2012 while making certain observations confirmed the order of the single judge in Spl. CA No of 2012 and rejected the petition. Against the said order dated 22/8/2012 in LPA No. 872 of 2012 in Spl. CA

4 4 No of 2012, the plaintiff filed petition for Special leave to appeal (Civil) No of 2013 with a prayer for interim relief before the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court vide its order dated 7/4/2014 dismissed also the said petition. Thus the plaintiff has failed upto the highest court for restoring the stay which was vacated by the co-operative Tribunal. Out of the frustration, resulting from her failure to restore the stay upto the Supreme Court, her POA in suit No. 43/2011 Mr. Pankaj Nathwani of Junagadh, in collusion with and through his two friends filed Spl. Civil Application No of 2014 in the High Court of Gujarat challenging the sale from the said lands made by the Bank on 12/6/2012 during the pendency of suit No. 43/2011, on 9th May, The High Court of Gujarat by its order dated 12/8/2014 not only rejected the said petition but also awarded costs of Rs. 5 (Five) lac and directed the petitioners to deposit the same within four weeks in the Gujarat state legal services Authority failing which the petitioners are warned that necessary proceedings under the Bombay law Revenue code to recover such cost shall be initiated. However against the said order, the petitioners therein have filed LPA No of 2014 in Spl. C.A. No of 2014 which is admitted and stay qua the costs of Rs. 5 Lacs has been given. Final hearing of LPA No of 2014 in Spl. C.A. No is pending.

5 5 Thereafter, on , overreaching the order dated of Supreme Court of India, the Court of Board of Nominees, Surat on an application by the Plaintiff in Lavad Suit No. 43/11 had again granted stay by ordering status quo. Against the said order dated , the bank approached the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court by way of SPI C.A. No of 2015 in which vide order dated , the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat has stayed implementation, execution and operation of the order dated pending admission,/ hearing and final disposal of said petition. Thus there is no stay continuing against the sale of the land for which advertisement is published on The said agricultural land was purchased by the Bank as part of its recovery proceedings in the year 1941, i.e. before The Gujarat Tenancy and Agricultural lands Act, 1948 came into force. The purchasers therefore need not have any worry in this regard. All those who have legal knowledge know that transfer during the pendency of the legal proceedings is not barred in law. However, the little of the purchasers of the said lands shall remain subservient to the rights of plaintiff in the suit No. 43/2011 in the court of Board of Nominees, Surat and subject to any direction which the court may eventually pass therein. The orders in this regard of the Gujarat State Co-op Tribunal in Revision application No. 134 of 2011, No. 98/2011 and No. 86/2013 in Arbitration case No. 43/2011 are available on the website of the Bank and The

6 6 orders of the Gujarat High Court in Spl. C.A. No. 6144, LPA No. 872 IN Spl. CA No and Spl. CA No of 2014 are available on the websites of the Gujarat High Court and the order of the Supreme Court of India in petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No. 1812/2012 are available on the website of the Supreme Court of India. The above facts are sufficient for the intending purchasers of lands to appreciate that the propaganda made by anyone is baseless and false. It is further clarified that two orders dated 8/6/1998 and 23/7/2002 of Deputy Collector, Choryasi, Prant, Surat which had impacted the District land records, have been quashed by Secretary, Revenue Department (Appeal) vide his two separate orders dated 7/11/2015. Following the cancellations of the said orders, the Bank has applied to Deputy Mamlatdar, Choryasi and to the Superintendent, DLR, Surat for giving effect of the same in the relevant revenue records and on the map. That also will be carried out in due course of time. Thus, total agricultural land as per original land revenue records (without considering draft TP scheme No. 50) admeasuring 1,13,819 sq. meters shall be restored. GENERAL MANAGER