Idbi Bank v. Avinash
Case brief
What is this about?
The Debt Relief Tribunal allowed the withdrawal of an original application filed by IDBI Bank as the matter was settled out of court. The court relied on Satish Chand Gupta to affirm the bank dominus litis nature and the lack of objection to settlements agreed upon by the bank.
What did the court decide?
Original Application withdrawn; files returned to bank by March 15, 2024; court fees refunded.
What the court decided
| 29/02/2024 | Ex. No. |
Before Presiding Officer Dr. Rekha G. Dhakar, DRT-1, Mumbai. Roznama in OA 710 of 2022 IDBI Bank Vs Avinash Bhosale |
Next date |
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| Advocate Bhavesh Poojary i/b MDP & Partners appeared for the Applicant. IA No. 446/2024 |
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| 1. The Ld. Counsel appearing for the Applicant Bank seeking permission to withdraw the Original Application as they have settled the matter out of court with the defendants and received an amount towards full and final settlement of entire OA claim of Rs. 1,11,77,882.10/-. 2. Considered the contentions of Ld. Counsel for the applicant and gone through the record as well as case laws on the subject. 3. The Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in the matter of Satish Chand Gupta & Ors. Vs. SBI-W.P © 2588/2010 held that “…..DRT can have no objection to the same as the bank which is claimant has agreed to the same. The bank is dominus litis and it is for the bank to decide as to against which party it desires the litigation to continue. |
It is purely a contractual matter and the bank in its wisdom decided to settle the claim against the petitioners…..”. It was further laid down that the Tribunal appears to think that it is some kind of Ombudsman/ Auditor of the bank to scrutinize the settlement arrived between the parties. The Tribunal is no one to decide as to at what value the bank should settle its dues with the borrower especially when the bank has Managers who have acted in pursuance to authorization in their favour and after due consideration of the proposal of the petitioners….”. 4. In the light of above, since the account impugned has already been closed in terms of settlement between the parties and Bank has already received the entire settlement amount, further the bank has dominus litis in their matter, therefore, IA No. 446/2024 is allowed and Original is as Application hereby disposed withdrawn. 5. The Registry of this Tribunal is hereby directed to return the complete
documents of the OA to the authorized officer of the applicant bank before the Ld. Registrar on 15/03/2024 after obtaining necessary acknowledgment. However, the order sheets as well as the plaint and necessary documents shall be kept with this Tribunal. 6. The applicant is directed to follow the procedure of refund of court fees as per the DRT (Refund of Court fee) Rules 2013. File be closed and consigned to record room. P.O. DRT-I
Issues for consideration
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the Debt Relief Tribunal has jurisdiction to object to the withdrawal of an application for recovery of dues settled out of court between the bank and the borrower.
Whether the bank, as dominant litigant, has the authority to settle the claim without Tribunal approval.
Parties & counsel
- applicant
IDBI Bank
- respondent
Avinash Bhosale
Coram
Dr. Rekha G. Dhakar
Case details
As recorded by the court registry
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