(1) CHS 243/14
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
Amk
CHAMBER SUMMONS NO. 243 OF 2014
IN
EXECUTION APPLICATION (L) NO. 1036 OF 2013
IN
ARBITRATION AWARD DATED 12th JULY, 2010
Mr. Bharat Kantilal Dalal .. Applicant
In the matter between
Mr. Bharat Kantilal Dalal .. Claimant
Vs.
Mr. Girdharlal Nathubhai Dalal & Ors. .. Respondents
Mr. M. P. S. Rao, Sr. Advocate a/w. Mr. Pranav Sampat, Mr. Sachin
Mandlik, Ms. Parvathi Parkot i/b Khaitan & Co. for the Applicant/Claimant.
Mr. Haresh Jagtiyani, Sr. Advocate a/w. Mr. Yashpal Jain, Ms. Vandana
Mehta, Mr. Nikhil Sansare for the Respondents.
CORAM : MRS. ROSHAN DALVI, J.
Date of reserving the Order : 1 st
DECEMBER, 2014.
Date of pronouncing the Order : 18 th
DECEMBER, 2014.
ORDER
1. The claimant/award holder has taken out this application for executing the award against the estate of the judgment debtor, since deceased. This Chamber Summons is taken out essentially against respondent No.1, who claims to be the executor, under a will of the deceased which is yet unprobated and for which yet an application for probate has not been filed.
2. The application is also upon notice under Order 21 Rule 22 of the CPC as the award has been passed more than 2 years prior to this ::: Downloaded on - 19/12/2014 23:46:44 ::: (2) CHS 243/14 application.
3. The applicant/claimant has himself set out details of various movable and immovable properties in prayer (b) of the application. The applicant has sought specific particulars in respect of the ancestral property, cash, jewellery, bank accounts, lockers, shares, securities, deposits, units etc. owned and held by the judgment debtors since deceased singly or jointly at the time of the award or his demise. The applicant has required particulars of the business of the deceased, the status of immovable properties of the deceased, the shares, securities, deposits held by him including the share holding in one specific company being Auro Mira Services Pvt. Ltd. The applicant has sought statement of the banks, fixed deposits, mutual funds, insurance policies of th deceased.
The applicant has further claimed details of trust established by the deceased specifically in British Virgin Island, Singapore and New Jersey. The applicant has sought particulars of the assets and properties of the deceased received by the respondents or any firms, companies or trusts controlled by the respondents from the deceased himself or through his companies, firms and trusts.
4. The applicant has annexed a schedule to the Chamber Summons setting out various properties known to him and has sought further particulars with regard to the specific items as aforesaid.
5. Consequently the applicant has specifically set out the ambit of the particulars required. The applicant has only claimed the particulars of the properties of the deceased at the time of the award and at the time of his death (which was 2 ½ years after the award was passed) and which forms the part of the estate of the deceased.
::: Downloaded on - 19/12/2014 23:46:44 :::(3) CHS 243/14
6. Since respondent No.1 claims to be the executor of such estate, he is required to provide the aforesaid particulars under the provisions of Order 21 Rule 41 of the CPC. The other respondents are not award debtors and need not provide the particulars called for.
7. Respondent No.1 has filed an affidavit giving details of certain movable and immovable properties. Most of the properties have been detailed by the applicant/claimant himself. The part of the affidavit is in the nature of explaining how the assets and properties detailed by the claimant do not form a part of the estate of the deceased. That is not the purport or ambit of an application under Order 21 Rule 41 of the CPC. Be that as it may, it is for the applicant/claimant to proceed in execution by attachment or otherwise of the properties which attachment shall be considered at appropriate time upon application made in accordance with law. In para 4 of the affidavit of respondent No.1 he has claimed that he is in the process of getting information and familarizing himself with the assets and liabilities of the deceased award debtor. The deceased died on 08.03.2013. The affidavit was made on 1st November, 2013. The particulars sought are not obtained until now.
8. The applicant has provided details of certain bank account and FDRs without substantiating documents annexed to his affidavit-in-reply.
The applicant must produce before the Court all the necessary documents including the copies of the FDRs as also the bank statement.
9. Though it is seen that only the known properties are stated in the affidavit-in-reply of respondent No.1, except perhaps the details of certain bank accounts, at present further details are not called upon as a ::: Downloaded on - 19/12/2014 23:46:44 ::: (4) CHS 243/14 large of the estate of the deceased has been known to the applicant/claimant/award holder and is shown by himself.
10. Hence the following order:
(a) The notice under Order 21 Rule 22 of the CPC to proceed in execution of the award is granted as the claimant/award holder has not yet been provided full knowledge and information of the entire estate of the award debtor.
(b) The applicant/claimant shall be entitled to proceed in execution in accordance with law.
(c) If the award stands satisfied upon the aforesaid particulars, no further directions would be required to be passed for further properties of the award debtor, since deceased, in respect of his estate.
(d) If, however, the award still remains unsatisfied after proceeding in execution in respect of the known properties; movable and immovable, of the deceased award debtor, further particulars may be sought by the applicant/claimant in a further such application.
(e) The Chamber Summons is disposed of in terms of the above directions.
(ROSHAN DALVI J.) ::: Downloaded on - 19/12/2014 23:46:44 :::