Kanthinathan Palani Kandasamy Vs Assistant Commissioner (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging a Tender-Cum-Auction Sale Notice issued under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act. The court’s decision, in the case of Kanthinathan Palani Kandasamy vs. Assistant Commissioner, was based on the principle that an effective alternative remedy is available under the SARFAESI Act itself, rendering the writ petition non-maintainable.
The petitioner had approached the High Court to challenge the sale notice issued by the third respondent under the SARFAESI Act. However, the court highlighted that such proceedings are subject to an appeal mechanism within the SARFAESI Act. This led the court to invoke well-established legal precedents from the Supreme Court of India, which consistently advise High Courts against entertaining petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution when an effective statutory remedy is available to the aggrieved party.
The Madras High Court specifically referred to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Celir LLP Vs. Bafna Motors (Mumbai) Private Limited and others [(2024) 2 SCC 1]. In this landmark judgment, the Supreme Court reiterated its long-standing position that High Courts should generally refrain from exercising their writ jurisdiction in matters where comprehensive procedures for recovery of public dues, including those of banks and financial institutions, are provided under specific legislations. The Supreme Court in Celir LLP had quoted extensively from its earlier decision in United Bank of India v. Satyawati Tondon [(2010) 8 SCC 110], where it was observed that “the High Court will ordinarily not entertain a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution if an effective remedy is available to the aggrieved person and that this rule applies with greater rigour in matters involving recovery of taxes, cess, fees, other types of public money and the dues of banks and other financial institutions.”
