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Sanjivkumar Surajprakash Aggarwal v. State Bank of India

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 5401 of 2016)Decided 30 Jun 2016
Civil Appeal No. 5401 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This order sends the case back; it does not decide the dispute. In proceedings under the SARFAESI Act involving the State Bank of India, the appellant claimed a tenancy over a secured asset. Whether that tenancy was genuine or a sham had never been decided on the facts.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final decision on the dispute. The Court did not decide whether the tenancy was a sham. It disposed of the appeal by directing the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Esplanade Court, Mumbai to hold a fresh inquiry into the genuineness of the tenancy, with a timeline for the parties to appear and for the inquiry to be completed. The bank's rights against the landlord were left unaffected pending that inquiry.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether the tenancy is genuine. That question is to be determined by the Magistrate in a time-bound inquiry.

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

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