Case Law Details
L & T Finance Limited Vs State of Maharashtra (Bombay High Court)
Bombay High Court directed that the Application filed by a Secured creditor under section 14 of the SARFAESI Act should be disposed of by the District Magistrate/ Collector in the State of Maharashtra not later than 30 days.
Facts- These petitions are filed by the secured creditors who had applied under section 14 of the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act). Since the applications have not been disposed of, the Petitioners have filed these petitions for directions for early disposal of these Petitions.
The principal grievance of the Petitioners is common that, despite the power under section 14 of the SARFAESI Act of 2002 being ministerial and to be used to aid the secured creditors in taking steps to realize their dues expeditiously, the applications are kept pending for an unduly long period.
Conclusion- The guidelines issued by the State Government by way of a Circular dated 10 April 2023 summarizes that all pending applications under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act as of 31 March 2023, should be disposed of by 30 April 2023. Fresh applications filed after 31 March should be disposed of by the District Magistrates within thirty days. Orders passed under Section 14 must be implemented within four weeks, and if officers are overburdened, an advocate can be appointed to implement the order as per law. A report must be submitted on applications and orders not disposed of within thirty days, and parties can make representations if an application is not disposed of or an order is not implemented within sixty days. The District Magistrates must maintain records and submit monthly statistics to the Divisional Commissioner. An online platform will be implemented to record all information and statistics.
Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.
Author Bio
