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Judgment
ORDER
No representation for the Applicants. Learned Counsel for Respondent Bank is present.
This transfer petition is filed for transferring MA 43/2026 and MA No. 44/2026 in SA 534/2025 from DRT, Coimbatore to the file of DRT, Chennai.
The background for filing this transfer petition is that Petitioners filed SA 534/2025 on the file of DRT, Coimbatore for challenging the order passed by the Learned CJM, Coimbatore in Cr.MP No.3816/2025 on 28.4.2025. Along with the Securitization Application, a stay application was filed. The case was listed from time to time. On 22.12.2025, the case was adjourned to 23.2.2026. On 5.2.2026, Mr. Raghavan, Advocate and Recovery Officer of PNB Housing Finance Limited, M/s. Preethi Bhatter and Mr. Maruthupandi and 4 others came to the property at 4.00 pm and informed that they came to give notice in respect of orders in Cr.MP No.3816/2025 dated 28.4.2025. Petitioner informed them that the case is pending in DRT, and the hearing is on 23.2.2026. Without minding the pendency, those persons threatened the Petitioner and affixed the Advocate Commissioner notice on the wall of the house. On 5.2.2026, Petitioner came to know that the hearing date in SA 534/2025 had been changed without any notice and the order has been obtained by the Respondent fraudulently behind the back of the Petitioner. On going through the case details, it was found that the case had been listed for arguments on 29.1.2026 and dismissed on the same day. The order dated 29.1.2026 had not been uploaded on the website. The Petitioner filed restoration petition in MA 44 of 2026, along with MA 43/2026 to hear the restoration petition on an urgent basis. When the interlocutory application filed along with SA 534/2025 was pending, Learned Presiding Officer, DRT, Coimbatore disposed SA 534/2025 without following the principles of natural justice and contrary to law. In the said circumstances, Petitioner sought to file the transfer applications, as aforesaid.
After verifying the e-DRT portal and finding that there is discrepancy in the dates of posting and passing orders, this Tribunal called for report from the Learned Presiding Officer, DRT, Coimbatore. The report reads that SA 534/2025, along with pending IAs were reposted on 22.12.2025 to 23.2.2026 and it is reflected in the cause list of 22.12.2025. At the time of uploading to the e-DRT portal, the proceeding date was inadvertently made as 5.1.2026. Thereafter, it was reposted to 21.1.2026 from 5.1.2026. On 21.1.2026, it was posted to 29.1.2026. When the case was heard on 29.1.2026, there was no representation for the Applicant. Without knowing the inadvertent mistake committed by the Registry, the SA was dismissed for non-prosecution and pending IAs have been disposed. Subsequently, MA 44/2026 was filed, along with the urgent application in MA 43/2026. It was recorded on 22.2.2026 that MA 43/2026 stands allowed and the matter was adjourned to 9.3.2026 for final arguments in MA 44/2026. No submission was made with regard to the inadvertent mistake committed by the Registry in wrongly listing the matter well in advance of the actual date of hearing.
Thus, the report made it clear that there is a mistake committed by the Registry in posting the case on 5.1.2026 when the actual date of hearing was on 23.2.2026. This wrong posting of 5.1.2026 resulted in adjournment dated 23.1.2026 and 29.1.2026 and dismissal for non-prosecution. When the case was adjourned to 23.2.2026 from 22.12.2025, the Petitioner would have been under the impression that the case would be taken up only on 23.2.2026, rightly so. The Petitioner’s would not have expected that the case was listed on 5.1.2026, 21.1.2026, and 29.1.2026 and dismissed for non-prosecution on 29.1.2026. The mistake has to be necessarily corrected.
With regard to the transfer request, the mistake was obviously the wrong date given by the Registry and for the said reason, it is not necessary for transferring the case from DRT, Coimbatore to another DRT. Therefore, the transfer request of the Petitioner cannot be entertained and negatived.
Accordingly, Learned Presiding Officer, DRT, Coimbatore is directed to restore SA 534/2025 with status quo ante as on 22.12.2025 and dispose the IAs and the main SA 534/2025 on merits and in accordance with the law.