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M/s. APJ Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India and Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 595 of 2016)Decided 14 Sept 2016
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 595 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

APJ Laboratories had filed a writ petition seeking to stop a bank from auctioning property that had been taken from it (apparently over loan dues). When the petition first came up on 29 July 2016, the Court had granted a conditional stay of the auction, on the condition that the company deposit 75% of its dues (as of 31 March 2016) in two instalments, 50% within six weeks and the remaining 25% within a further six weeks, and had warned that if the first instalment was not paid on time, the petition would stand automatically dismissed without further hearing.

Decision Breakdown

When the matter came back before the Court, it was informed that the company had failed to comply with the payment condition. Consistent with its own earlier order, the Court held the writ petition dismissed for non-compliance. It did, however, clarify that this dismissal would not prevent the company from separately pursuing a one-time settlement with the bank, if such a settlement scheme was available.

Lesson Learnt

A court-granted stay that comes with a financial condition is not a mere formality, failing to pay as directed can mean automatic dismissal of the case without a fresh hearing, so compliance deadlines in conditional orders must be taken as seriously as the underlying relief itself.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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