Team Herald
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has set aside a verdict of the High Court of Bombay at Goa delivered in favour of a builder, in December 2013, stopping sale of a property mortgaged with a cooperative bank after it was won by one Ludovico Sagrado Goveria in 2007 in an auction through sealed tenders.
The case relates to failure to repay a loan of Rs 40 lakh taken by the proprietor of Gable Builders in 1997 from the Mapusa branch of the Goa State Cooperative Bank Limited, to build a bungalow, mortgaging western part of the property measuring 8,000 square metres.
Neither the borrower nor the two sureties appeared in the recovery proceedings, resulting in an ex-parte award of Rs 60.60 lakh plus interest in 2002 against them. No bidder, however, came forward in response to half a dozen public auction notices between January 2002 and February 2007 until the bank resorted to inviting sealed tenders and sold it to Goveria who paid the entire amount of Rs 86 lakh upfront.
The Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant allowed appeal of Goveia who had bought the property in March 2007, overruling the High Court judgment that had set aside the 2002 recovery award on the ground that it was not executed under the Arbitration Act, 1996.
In its judgment delivered on Tuesday, the Bench also noted the bank’s statement that it has recovered the entire loan with interest amounting to Rs 85,15,311 and directed it to refund the balance of Rs 74,688, together with interest at the rate of 19% compounded per annum from April 1, 2007 to Goveia within four weeks.
Counsel for respondents Cirila Rosa Maria Pinto pleaded to revert the case back to the High Court to deal with two other issues, but the Apex Court declined noting that it would not be inclined to accede the request after noting six failed attempts to sell the property until the tender process was adopted.
