Ajay Narain Vs Reserve Bank of India & Ors (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court considered a Letters Patent Appeal challenging the dismissal of a writ petition that sought to question actions taken under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA) in relation to a property transaction. The learned Single Judge had dismissed the writ petition on 02.12.2025 on the ground that the issues raised had already been conclusively examined and decided in earlier civil proceedings and connected appeals, and therefore could not be reopened in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The background of the dispute lay in transactions between the appellant and a private respondent relating to loans advanced between 1996 and 1998 and documents executed in respect of the second floor of a property in Jor Bagh, New Delhi. The appellant claimed that the documents were executed only as security for loans and were later revoked. Civil suits followed: one filed by the appellant seeking declarations and injunctions, and another by the private respondent seeking specific performance of the agreement to sell. During the civil proceedings, an additional issue was framed in 2011 as to whether the transaction was hit by Section 31 of FERA. By a common judgment dated 02.12.2024, the suit for specific performance was decreed and the appellant’s suit was dismissed.
