West Bengal Financial Corporation and Others vs Saroj Kumar Kesh and Others

In our opinion, the Court should not stand in the way of the West Bengal Financial Corporation to exercise their statutory right u/s 29(1) of the Slate Financial Corporations Act, 1951 hereinafter referred to as the Act. u/s 29(1) of the Act. the Corporation has been conferred the right to sell or grant lease of the industrial concern which has defaulted in repayment of any loan or advance or any instalment there or in meeting its obligations in relation to any guarantee given by the corporation or otherwise fails to comply with the terms of its agreement with the Financial Corporation. The Corporation has taken possession of the industrial concern which is a partnership firm. The learned Judge, however, by the impugned order restrained the Corporation and its officers from selling the industrial concern i.e. the factory of the partnership firm. It may be stated here that the firm stands dissolved and there is a serious dispute among its three partners. The learned Judge by the impugned order permitted one of the partners, Shri Saroj Kesh, the writ petitioner, to run the factory on certain terms. It is not in dispute that there are many creditors of the firm. There is no guarantee that the writ petitioner will be in a position to liquidate the claims of the creditors including the Corporation. There is also no provision of law under which the Court can allow one of the partners of the dissolved firm to cam on the business of the firm.

After considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we set aside the impugned interim order of the learned Judge. The Corporation will be at liberty to proceed in accordance with either Section 29(1) or Section 39(1)(b) of the Act.

In case the Corporation proceeds to sell the industrial concern i.e. the factory of the firm, the partners will be at liberty to make their offer for purchasing the factory. Further, the Corporation will publish advertisements once in the Statesman and once in the Ananda Bazar Patrika inviting tenders for the sale of the concern. The offers that will be received by the Corporation pursuant to such advertisements will not be disposed of without giving notice of the highest offer to the partners of the firm. The amount in excess of the claim of the Corporation, if any, will be held by the Corporation and the partners will be at liberty to take steps for getting back the same in accordance with their shares. The Corporation will also give intimation to the partners about the excess amount that will be held by it. The excess amount should also be invested by the Corporation in a fixed deposit account in a Nationalised Bank for a period not exceeding six months at a time.

This order virtually disposes of both the appeals. The appeals are treated as on day''s list and the same and the applications are disposed of as above. There will be no order for costs.