Bombay High Court
Rajesh Mehta vs Hdfc Bank Ltd on 4 August, 2025
Author: N.R. Borkar
Bench: M.S. Karnik, N.R. Borkar
2025:BHC-OS:12753-DB
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO.12032 OF 2025
IN
WRIT PETITION (L) NO. 10818 OF 2025
Rajesh Mehta ... Applicant
In the matter between
Rajesh Mehta ... Petitioner
Digitally
signed by V/s.
DINESH
DINESH SADANAND
SADANAND SHERLA HDFC Bank Ltd. ... Respondents
SHERLA Date:
2025.08.06
10:57:01
+0530
----------------
Mr. Aabad Ponda Sr. Adv, a/w Kushal Mor, Tanmy K. Abhishek
Prabhu, Mr. Utsav Trivedi, Mr. Asim Mohd, Ms. Sivani B, Mr. H.
N. Thakore, Ms. Jyoti Ghag, Mr. Shailesh Prajapati, Mr.Ankit
Singhal i/b DUA Associates for the Applicant/ Petitioner.
Mr. Kevic Setalvad Sr. Adv, a/w Zoeb Cuttelerywala, Mr.Vikram
Kamath, Ms Deeksha Dev Singh, Adv. Prakhar Dixit i/b Phoenix
Legal for the Respondent - Bank
----------------
CORAM : M.S. KARNIK &
N.R. BORKAR, J.J.
DATE : 4th AUGUST, 2025.
ORDER (Per N.R. Borkar, J.)
1. The applicant, who is one of the Certificate Debtors in
Recovery Proceeding No. 709 of 2004 pending on the file of
Recovery Officer, Debts Recovery Tribunal-II (for short "DRT"),
has filed the present application seeking permission to travel
abroad.
2. The respondent - Bank has filed the above recovery
proceedings against the applicant and others for recovery of
an amount of Rs.1474514929/- with interest. On the
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application filed by the respondent - Bank at Exhibit-82 for
arrest and detention of the applicant and other Certificate
Debtors in civil prison, the Recovery Officer, DRT-II, Mumbai
on 5th February 2020 has passed the following order :
"ORDER
(i) Let Warrant of Arrest be issued against Certificate
Debtor No. 2,3 and 6 through Commissioner of Police,
Mumbai.
(ii) I hereby attach all the bank accounts, lockers and
shares in the name of CD No.2, 3 and 6 as per the details
mentioned at para 4.
(iii) Certificate Debtor No. 2,3 and 6 are restrained
from operating any type of bank account, locker or
shares.
(iv) Certificate Debtors are at liberty to visit
abroad with the condition that they shall deposit
25% of due amount as on the date of visit and
after availing the permission from this forum to
visit abroad and also file and an undertaking that
they shall report to this forum after completion of
journey.
(v) CH Bank is directed to conduct the forensic audit of
the accounts of Certificate Debtors in order to trail the
diversion of funds and file the report.
(vi) Deputy Governor, RBI, Mumbai is requested to pass
appropriate orders to all the banks and concerned
authorities in terms of attachment at S.No.(ii).
(vii) Commissioner of Police, Mumbai is requested to
ensure the execution of Warrant of Arrest. Shri Rajesh
K.Mehta, CD No.3 is residing at Englantieriaan, 7 Bus 3,
2020, Antewerpen, Belgium. It is requested that Warrant
of Arrest be served as per the guidelines issued by
Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs.
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(viii) CEO and Managing Director of CH Bank is directed
to take necessary steps for execution of Recovery
Certificate as inspite of taking up the matter with CEO
and MD on 15.03.2018, no response was received.
(ix) Registry is directed to send a copy of the order to
Deputy Governor, RBI, Mumbai; Commissioner of Police,
Mumbai and CEO and Managing Director of CH Bank."
(emphasis supplied)
3. Against the above order dated 5 th February 2020 passed
by Recovery Officer, the applicant and other certificate
debtors filed the writ petition before this Court being Writ
Petition No.132 of 2023. On 27 th February 2023, this Court
decided the said writ petition and passed the following order :
"27. In the circumstances, the following order:
a) The Application No. R.P. 709/2021 filed by the
Respondent - Bank before the Recovery Officer stands
restored to file.
b) The impugned order dated 5 February 2020 passed
by the Recovery Officer shall be treated as an interim
order pending the application.
c) The observations made in the impugned order
dated 5 February 2020 shall be treated as prima facie
findings of the Recovery Officer.
d) The Recovery Officer shall, after giving an
opportunity to the parties, as enumerated in the
paragraph 20 (f), will decide as to whether confirm,
modify or set aside the impugned order dated 5
February 2020 as per the time schedule stipulated in
para 20(e)
e) (i) The Petitioners and the Respondent- Bank will
appear before the Recovery Officer on 8 March 2023.
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(ii) Upon appearance of the parties, the Recovery
Officer will stipulate the period within which the
Petitioners will file an affidavit of disclosure with
documentation in reference of the properties including
the one referred in the record of the writ petition
annexing all necessary details. This period shall not be
more than two weeks from the date of appearance.
(iii) The Recovery Officer shall grant the
Respondent - Bank an opportunity to file an additional
affidavit/ application placing on record the material in
support of the contention that a case under Rule 73 is
made out against the Petitioners. This period shall not be
more than four weeks.
(iv) The Recovery Officer shall direct the
Petitioner to file reply affidavit to the additional
application of the Respondent- Bank within a period of
three weeks from the date the application so filed. If the
reply affidavit is not filed within three weeks, the
Petitioners will forfeit their rights to file reply affidavit
and the Recovery Officer will be entitled to proceed in
the matter on that basis.
(v) After the pleadings are complete as above,
the Recovery Officer will take final decision/steps on its
merits within a period of three months.
f) Till the decision is so taken, the ad-interim order
granted in this petition on dated 13 February 2020 will
continue. This protection is conditional upon the
Petitioner following the mandate under para 20(e) as
above.
28. Writ Petition is disposed of in above terms."
4. Pursuant to the above order passed by this Court dated
27th February 2023, the Recovery Officer after granting
opportunity to the parties as directed by this Court on 25 th
October 2023 decided the matter afresh & passed the
following order:
ial-12032-25 in wpl-10818-25.doc
"ORDER
21. In view of above and series of events narrated
herein CD No.2 & 3 failed to prove that they are not
having paying capacity to pay the dues of the CH Bank
either partially or fully from the date of filing of OA till
date.
22. Ld. Advocate for CH Bank to proved their stand
that CD No.2 & 3 are having paying capacity and are the
men of means. They failed and neglected the payment of
the dues of CH Bank, despite of having paying capacities
as concluded from the various events narrated
hereinabove. Further, CH Bank proved that the CD No.2 &
3 has filed false and incomplete information on affidavit
hiding and not disclosing various informations and
therefore requested for arrest and detention of CD No.2
& 3.
19.8. Looking into the series of events narrated herein,
facts submitted by the CH Bank & CD No.2 & 3 and after
hearing deliberations and arguments of the parties by
relying on the judgments quoted by them, I hold that the
CDs are the men of means and had the money to pay the
dues of the CH Bank either fully or partially and filed the
disclosure affidavits by hiding the facts and thereby filed
false affidavit. They has dishonestly incorporated 3
companies and hold shares therein and transferred
shares in violation of Rule 16 and 73 of Schedule II of the
Income Tax Act. Therefore, I herewith confirm the order
dated 05.02.2020 passed by my Ld. Predecessor to the
extent of CD No.2 & 3. Accordingly;
(i) Registry is directed to issue Warrant of Arrest
against Certificate Debtor No.2 & 3 through
Commissioner of Police, Mumbai.
(ii) I hereby attach all the bank accounts, lockers and
shares in the name of CD No.2 & 3.
(iii) Certificate Debtor Nos.2 & 3 are restrained from
operating any type of bank account, locker or shares.
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(iv) Certificate Debtors are at liberty to visit
abroad with the condition that they shall deposit
25% of due amount as on the date of visit and
after availing the permission from this forum to
visit abroad and also file and an undertaking that
they shall report to this forum after completion of
journey.
(v) CH Bank is directed to conduct the forensic audit of
the accounts of Certificate Debtors in order to trail the
diversion of funds and file the report.
(vi) Deputy Governor, RBI, Mumbai is requested to pass
appropriate orders to all the banks and concerned
authorities in terms of attachment at S.No.(ii).
(vii) Commissioner of Police, Mumbai is requested to
ensure the execution of Warrant of Arrest. Shri Rajesh K.
Mehta, CD No.3 is residing at Englantieriaan, 7 Bus 3,
2020, Antewerpen, Belgium. It is requested that Warrant
of Arrest be served as per the guidelines issued by
Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs.
(viii) Registry is directed to send a copy of the order to
Deputy Governor, RBI, Mumbai and Commissioner of
Police, Mumbai."
(emphasis supplied)
5. In a writ petition filed before this court by the applicant
and others against the order dated 25 th October 2023 passed
by the Recovery Officer, this Court by order dated 8 th
November 2023 directed the applicant and others to deposit
25% of the amount of debt due as on the date of passing of
the said order. This direction of deposit was challenged before
the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The Hon'ble Supreme Court by
order dated 20th November 2023 in petition for Special Leave
to Appeal (C) No.25594 of 2023 did not interfere with the
order passed by this Court. As the applicant & others failed to
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deposit the amount in terms of the order dated 8 th November
2023 passed by this Court by order dated 20 th March 2024
this court declined to entertain the writ petition.
6. By order dated 22nd July 2025, the Recovery Officer has
allowed the application filed by the applicant and withdrawn
the arrest warrant and vacated the travel restriction.
7. The respondent - Bank has challenged the said order
dated 22nd July 2025 passed by the Recovery Officer in the
connected writ petition.
8. We have heard Mr. Ponda, learned senior advocate for
the applicant and Mr. Setalvad, learned senior advocate for
the respondent - Bank.
9. The learned senior advocate for the applicant submits
that the applicant is a Non-Resident Indian and since 1997
has been residing in Belgium with his family. It is submitted
that due to recovery proceeding since May 2024, the
applicant has not been able to travel to Belgium to meet his
family. It is submitted that the applicant needs to renew his
Belgium Residency permit, which expired on 21st January
2025. The learned senior advocate for the applicant submits
that the applicant is a trustee of Lilavati Kiritlal Mehta Medical
Trust and as such his presence is also needed in India to fulfill
his duty towards the trust. It is submitted that the applicant,
therefore, cannot be considered as a flight risk.
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10. On the other hand, learned senior advocate for the
respondent-Bank submits that order dated 22 nd July 2025
passed by the Recovery Officer is wholly illegal. In support of
it, learned senior advocate for the respondent-Bank has
drawn our attention to the various orders passed by the
Recovery officer and this Court, some of which we have
reproduced above.
11. Having considered the rival submissions, we are of the
opinion that the applicant does not appear to be a flight risk.
Even during the pendency of the criminal proceedings, the
applicant was granted permission to travel abroad. The
applicant has returned back to India as directed. This aspect
we referred for the purpose of testing the conduct of the
applicant in the past. The applicant wants to spend time with
his family and see his grandchild. Another aspect why we are
inclined to allow the application is that during the course of
hearing of the present application, the applicant has filed the
affidavit showing his willingness to deposit of Rs.7,50,00,000/-
with this Court. The affidavit reads thus.
"AFFIDAVIT OF MR. RAJESH MEHTA
I, Rajesh Kishor Mehta the Applicant, aged about 58
years, currently residing at 9, Diamond House, Vatcha
Gandhi Road, Gamdevi, Mumbai-400008, do hereby
solemnly affirm undertakes as under:
1. The Applicant undertakes to arrange for a sum of Rs.
7,50,00,000/- through friends, relatives and
associates to be deposited in this Hon'ble Court to
show his bonafides so as to enable him to travel out
of country to Belgium & other countries in Europe.
[for a period of 4 months] and United States of
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America [for a period of 2 months]. This period will
commence within one week from the deposit of the
said money to complete travel formalities like
booking of tickets, completing formalities with the
immigration authorities, etc.
2. The Applicant has mentioned Europe in para 1 as he
may have to cross borders to neighbouring Countries
from Belgium for personal visits like family vacations
and/or for hospital works like negotiations with
medical equipment manufacturers, discussions with
Cleveland clinic for multi-speciality hospital, NHS for
medical tourism and nursing programs, etc.
3. The said money shall be deposited with the Ld.
Prothonotary & Senior Master of this Hon'ble Court
within a period of two weeks or earlier. The said
money is to be dealt with as per the orders passed
by this Hon'ble Court, to which the Applicant submits
to.
4. The Applicant shall leave the country only after the
said money is deposited with the Hon'ble Court and
shall return back within a period of 6 months, as
mentioned in para 1, from the date that he leaves
the country.
5. The Applicant, during the course of his travel, will
accept service of legal notices and processes through
his advocates, M/s. Dua Associates and will not raise
any objection regarding service if the same is
properly made to his advocates. In any event,
Applicant's telephone number and email address for
the duration of the visit will be +32477-618580;
[email protected].
6. The Applicant's address at Belgium would be
Eglantierlaan 7 Bus2, Antwerp 2020, Belgium and in
the United States of America will be 351 west 54
street NY 10019."
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12. The affidavit of Mr. Rajesh Mehta is accepted as an
undertaking to this Court. Breach of the undertaking will be
viewed seriously. Considering the overall facts and
circumstances, we are inclined to grant permission to the
applicant to travel abroad. We will examine the rival
contentions of the parties against the impugned order/s
passed by the Recovery Officer at the time of hearing the writ
petitions. Hence, the Application is allowed in terms of prayer
clause (c) for a period of four months, on the following terms
and conditions:
(a) The applicant shall file an undertaking in this Court
setting out a detailed itinerary of the travel including the
airline tickets, addresses of the hotels/residence where
he would be staying along with other contact details.
This undertaking shall also state that the applicant shall
return to India on or before 5th December 2025.
(b) The applicant shall also file an undertaking stating
that he will not apply for renewal, modification or
extension of this order until he returns back to India.
(c) Both the aforesaid undertakings shall be served on
the Advocate for HDFC Bank Ltd. before the date of
departure.
(d) The applicant without prejudice to his rights and
contention shall deposit a sum of Rs.7,50,00,000/-
(Rupees Seven Crore Fifty Lakhs) with the Prothonotary
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& Senior Master of this Court within a period of two
weeks from today, who in turn shall invest the said
amount in F.D.R. in HDFC Bank.
13. The Interim application is disposed of in the above
terms.
14. List the present writ petition along with connected writ
petition on 25th August 2025.
(N.R. BORKAR, J.) (M.S. KARNIK, J.)
