Holding

Actions taken by a secured creditor under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, being post‑Section 13(4) measures, are amenable to appeal under Section 17, and where such an efficacious remedy exists, courts cannot entertain writ relief under Articles 226/227.

Summary

The State Bank of India advanced a Rs. 4.5 crore loan to the appellants on an equitable mortgage and, after default, issued a notice under Section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act. The bank then filed an application under Section 14 before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, which ordered possession of the mortgaged property and the Assistant Registrar issued a notice to the appellants. The appellants approached the Bombay High Court seeking relief under Articles 226/227, but the High Court dismissed the writ, holding that an efficacious alternative remedy existed under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act to appeal to the Debt Recovery Tribunal. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed that actions taken under Section 14 are post‑Section 13(4) measures and therefore fall within the ambit of Section 17, making the alternative remedy available and precluding the High Court from exercising its writ jurisdiction. Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals with costs.

Issues considered

Whether an action taken by a secured creditor under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, after a notice under Section 13(2) and failure to comply, is covered by Section 13(4) and thus subject to appeal under Section 17.
Whether the High Court could entertain a writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution when an efficacious alternative remedy under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act is available.

Legislation cited

Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002s. 13(2), s. 13(3), s. 13(3-A), s. 13(4), s. 14, s. 17

Subjects

SARFAESI ActSection 13Section 14Section 17Debt Recovery TribunalWrit petitionArticles 226 and 227alternative remedysecured creditorpossessionequitable mortgageguarantor

Judgment

[2011] 2 S.C.R. 602

A KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS.
v.
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS.
(Criminal Appeal Nos.338-340 of 2011)
FEBRUARY 7, 2011
B
[D.K. JAIN AND H.L. DATIU, JJ.]

Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and
Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002: s. 17 - Default in
C repayment of secured debt - Notice issued u/s. 13(2) to
borrower to discharge liability -Application u/s. 14 by secured
creditor before Magistrate for taking possession of mortgaged
properties, allowed - Writ petition by borrower/ guarantors
before High Court, dismissed on the ground that an
D alternative remedy was available to them uls. 17 - On appeal,
held: s.13(4) provides that if borrower fails to discharge his
liability within the period specified in s. 13(2) then secured
creditor may take recourse to action to recover his debt -
Secured creditor may, in order to enforce his rights uls.13(4)
E take recourse to s. 14 of the Act - An action u/s. 14 constitutes
an action taken after the stage of s.13(4), and, therefore, the
same would fall within the ambit of s.17(1) - Thus, the Act
itself contemplates an efficacious remedy for the borrower or
any person affected by an action u/s. 13(4) by providing for an
F appeal before the DRT - Ordinarily relief under Articles 2261
227 of the Constitution is not available if an efficacious
alternative remedy is available to any aggrieved person -
Therefore, High Court was fully justified in declining to
exercise its jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the
G Constitution - Constitution of India, 1950 - Articles 226 and
227.
Respondent no.3 had a.dvanced a loan amount of Rs.
4.50 crores to appellant no.6 on an equitable mortgage
by deposit of title deeds of certain properties. Appellant
H 602
-
KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS. v. oU3
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS.
Nos.1 to 5 were the guarantors. Respondent no.3. issued A
a notice under Section 13(2) of the Securitization and
Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of
Security Interest Act, 2002. Thereafter, respondent no.3
filed an application before the Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate under Section.14 of the Act for taking B
possession of the mortgaged properties. The Magistrate
allowed the said application and directed the Assistant
· Registrar to take possession of the mortgaged properties
after issuing notice to the appellants.
Aggrieved by such notice issued by the Assistant C
Registrar, the appellants filed a writ petition before the
High Court. The writ petition was dismissed on the
ground that an alternative remedy was available to the
appellants under Section 17 of the Act. The High Court
also directed the respondents to maintain status quo in D
the matter for a period of 10 weeks from the date of Its
order, so as to enable the appellants to approach the
Debt Recovery Tribunal under Section 17 of the Act.
The appellants flied an application before the High E
Court seeking an extension of the status quo period. The
High Court rejected the said application. The Instant
appeals were filed challenging the orders whereby the
writ petition and the application were dismissed.
Dlsmi~~lng the appeals, the Cciurt
F

HELD: 1.1. Section 13 of the Securltlsatlon and
Reconstruction of Financial Assets- and Enforcement of
Security Interest Act, 2002 deals with enforcement of
security Interest, providing that notwithstanding 11hythlng G
contained In Sections 69 or 69A of the Transfer of
Property Act, 18lJ2, any security Interest created In favour
of any secured credifor may be enforced, without the
court's Intervention, by such creditor In accordance with
H
--
604 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 2 S.C.R.

A the provisions of the Act. Section 13(2) of the Act _
provides that when a borrower, who is under a liability
to a secured creditor, makes any default in repayment of
secured debt, and his account in respect of such debt is
classified as non-performing asset, then the secured
s creditor may require the borrower, by notice in writing,
to discharge his liabilities within sixty days from the date
of the notice, failing which the secured creditor shall be
entitled to exercise all or any of the rights given in Section
13(4) of the Act. Sectio1113(3) of the Act provides that the
c notice under Section 13(2) of the Act shall give details of
the amount payable by the borrower as ~lso the details
of the secured assets intended to be enforced by the
bank. Section 13(3-A) of the Act provides for a last
opportunity for the borrower to make a representation to
the .secured creditor against the classification of his
0
account as a non-performing asset. The secured creditor
is required to consider the representation of the
borrowers, and if the secured creditor comes to the
conclusion that the representation is not tenable or
acceptable, then he must communicate, within one week
E of the receipt of the communication by the borrower, the
reasons .for rejecting the same. Section 13(4) of the Act
provides that if the borrower fails to discharge his liability
within the period specified in Section 13(2), then the
secured creditor, may take recourse to actions, to
F recover his debt. [Para 16] [610-G-H; 611-A-H; 612-A]

1.2. Section 14 of the Act provides that the secured
creditor can file an application before the Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate or the District Magistrate, within
G whose jurisdiction, the secured asset or other documents
relating thereto are found for taking possession thereof.
If any such request is made, the Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate or the District Magistrate, as the case may be,
is obliged to take possession of such asset or document
H
KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS. v. 605
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS.
and forward the same to the secured creditor. Therefore, A
·it follows that a secured creditor may, in order to enforce
his rights under Section 13(4), in particular Section
13(4)(a), may take recourse to Section 14 of the Act. An
action under Section 14 of the Act constitutes an action
taken after the stage of Section 13(4), and therefore, the B
same would fall within the ambit of Section 17(1) of the
Act. Thus, the Act itself contemplates an efficacious
remedy for the borrower or any person affected by an
action under Section 13(4) of the Act, by providing for an
appeal before the ORT. Therefore, the High Court rightly C
dismissed the petition on the ground that an efficacious
remedy was available to the appellants under Section 17
of the Act. It is well-settled that ordinarily relief under
Articles 2261227 of the Constitution of India is not available
if an efficacious alternative remedy is available to any
0
aggrieved person. [Paras 16, 20 and 21] (612-G-H; 615-
C-E]
United Bank of India v. Satyawati Tondon & Ors. (2010)
8 SCC 11 O; Authorised Officer, Indian Overseas Bank & Anr.
v. Ashok Saw Mill (2009) 8 SCC 366; Sadhana Lodh v. E
National Insurance Co. Ltd. & Anr. (2003) 3 SCC 524; Surya
Dev Rai v. Ram Chander Rai & Ors. (2003) 6 SCC 675; State
Bank of India v. Allied Chemical Laboratories & Anr. (2006)
9 SCC 252; City and Industrial Development Corporation v.
'Dosu Aardeshir Bhiwandiwala & Ors. (2009) 1 SCC 168 - F
relied on.

Transcore v. Union of India & Anr. (2008) 1 SCC 125,
Mardia Chemicals Ltd. & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. (2004)
4 sec 311 - referred to.
G
1.3. In the instant case, apart from the fact that
admittedly certain disputed questions of fact viz. non-
receipt of notice under Section 13(2) of the Act, non-
communication of the order of the Chief Judicial
Magistrate etc. were involved, an efficacious statutory H'
606 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 2 S.C.R.

A remedy of appeal under Section 17 of the Act was
available to the appellants, who ultimately. availed of the
same. Therefore, having regard to the facts obtaining in
the case, the High Court was fully justified in declining
to exercise its jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of
B the Constitution. The impugned judgments cannot be
flawed, warranting interference by this Court. [Paras 22,
23) [616-D-F] .

Case Law Reference:

c (2008) 1 sec 125 referred to Para 13
(2004) 4 sec 311 referred to Paras 14, 16
(2010) s sec 110 relied on Para 16
(2009) s sec 366 relied on Para 19
D
(2003) 3 sec 524 relied on Para 21
(2003) 6 sec 675 relied on Para 21
(2006) 9 sec 252 relied on Para 21
E
(2009) 1 sec 168 relied on Para 21
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTON: Criminal Appeal
Nos. 338-340 of 2011.

F From the Judgment & Order dated 28.4.2009 of the High
Court of Judicature at Bombay in Crl. Writ Petition No. 707 of
2009 and order dated 08.5.2009 in Crl. Writ Petition No. 707
of 2009 and order dated 01.07.2009 in Application No. 178 of
2009 in Crl. Writ Petition No. 707 of 2009.
G Kranti Anand, Aishwarya Bhati, Rashid Khan, Angeline S.
A. Rodriques, Buddy A. Ranganadhan, A.V. Rangam, Sushil
Karanjakar, Sanjay Kharde, Asha Gopalan Nair for the
appearing parties.

H
KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS. v. 607
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by A
D.K. JAIN, J. 1. Leave granted.

2. Challenge in these appeals, by special leave, is to the
judgments and orders dated 28th April, 2009 and 1st July, 2009
delivered by the High Court of Bombay in W.P. No. 707 of B·
2009, and Criminal Application No. 178 of 2009 in W.P. No.
707 of 2009, respectively whereby it has dismissed the writ
petition filed by the appellants herein, and also declined to
extend the status-quo order granted by it to them.
c
3. Briefly stated, the facts, material for adjudication of the
present appeals, may be stated thus:

Respondent No. 3, viz. the State Bank of India had
advanced a loan of Rs. 4,50,00,000/- to appellant No. 6 on an
equitable mortgage by deposit of the title deeds of certain D
properties, subject matter of these appeals, on 6th February,
2006. Appellant Nos.1 to 5 and one Mr. Lalchand Sachdeo .
stood as personal guarantors to the said loan.

4. On default of re-payment of loan amount, respondent No. E
3 issued a notice under the Securitisation and Reconstruction
of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest
(Second) Ordinance, 2002 on 18th November, 2006. on· 12th
February, 2007, the officers of respondent No. 3 dispossessed
the appel!ants of one of the secured properties viz. T-125, CTS, F
No. 1729. Being aggrieved, the appellants filed a writ petition
being CRL. W.P. No.286 of 2007 before the Bombay High
Court, inter-alia, contending that the notice issued by
respondent No. 3 was illegal, no action could be taken in
pursuance thereof, and if at all, the respondent wanted to take G
. any action, it was required to approach the Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate under Section 14 of the Securitisation and
Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security
Interest Act, 2002 (for short "the Act").
H
608 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 2 S.C.R.

A 5. Before the High Court, respondent No. 3 offered to
withdraw the notice dated 18th November, 2006 without
prejudice to the rights and contentions advanced by them, and
to return the possession of the said property to the appellants,
subject to the appellants and all adult members furnishing an
B undertaking to the effect that they shall not alienate, encumber,
· transfer, dispose of and/or create any third party interest in the
said premises for a period of six months. Accepting the
statement made on behalf of respondent No. 3, the High Court
dismissed the writ petition vide order dated 7th March, 2007.
c 6. Thereafter, on 11th April, 2007 respondent No. 3 issued
to the appellants a notice under Section 13(2) of the Act. The
'appellants replied to the said notice on 23rd May, 2007. Vide
letter dated 29th May, 2007, respondent No. 3, communicated
its reasons for not accepting the reply. Subsequently,
D respondent No. 3 issued a public notice in newspapers,
informing the appellants of the issuance of notice under Section
13(2) of the Act.

7. In pursuance thereof, respondent No.3, filed C.C. No.
E 223/M/2008 before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate under
Section 14 of the Act for taking possession of the secured
assets. Vide order dated 3rd February, 2009, the Magistrate
allowed the said application and directed the Assistant
Registrar, Kurla Centre of Courts, to take possession of the
F mortgaged properties after issuing notice to the appellants.

8. Vide notice dated 27th February, 2009, the Assistant
Registrar, directed the appellants to hand over the possession
of the mortgaged properties to respondent No. 3 within 15
days from the receipt of the said notice. At this juncture, it would
G be expedient to extract the relevant portions of the said notice:

"Whereas, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Esplanade,
Mumbai has passed the following order on 3.2.2009 on
the application filed before him by State Bank of India,
H Mazda Complex, Parsi Agari Lane, Thana (W) 400601
KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS. v. 609
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]
through its Authorized Officer Fazlur Rehman Sheikh. A

ORDER '

The Application is allowed. Asst. Registrar, Mr. P.A.
Tendolkar, Kurla Centre of Court after issuing notice of
taking possession of ·the secured 8
assets...................................................................................."

It is manifest from a bare perusal -of the said notice that the
order passed by the Magistrate dated 3rd February, 2009 was
referred to by the Assistant Registrar in his notice. C

9. Being aggrieved by the said notice, the appellants herein
again approached the High Court. As afore-stated, the High
Court dismissed the said writ petition, vide order dated 28th
April, 2009, on the ground that an alternative remedy was D
available to the appellants under Section 17 of the Act.
Nevertheless, the High Court directed the respondents to
maintain status quo in the matter for a period of 10 weeks from
the date of its order, so as to enable the appellants to approach
the Debts Recovery Tribunal (for short the "DRT") under Section
17 of the Act. E

10. Thereafter, the appellants filed Criminal Application No.
178 of 2009 in W.P. No. 707 of 2009 seeking an extension of
the status quo period granted vide order dated 28th April, 2009.
As afore-stated, the High Court rejected the said application F
filed by the appellants.

11. Hence, the present appeals against both the said
orders.

12. Ms. Kranti Anand, learned counsel appearing on G
behalf of the appellants, while assailing the impugned orders,
strenuously urged that apart from the fact that the notice issued
by the Assistant Registrar was vague, it was never served on
the appellants. In fact, appellants received a copy of the order
of the Magistrate during the proceedings before the High Court, H
610 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 2 S.C.R.

A pleaded the learned counsel. Learned counsel also urged that
the notice issued by the Assistant Registrar was vitiated on
account of non-compliance with Rule 8 of the Security Interest
(Enforcement) Rules, 2002 (for short "the 2002 Rules") as well.
It was argued that the High Court had also erred in equating
B action under Section14 of the Act with action under Section
13(4)(a) of the Act. It was thus, asserted that for all these
reasons, the impugned orders deserve to be set aside.

13. Per contra, Mr. Buddy A. Ranganadhan, learned
C counsel appearing on behalf of respondent No.3-Bank,
supporting the impugned judgments, contended that in light of
the decision of this Court in Transcore Vs. Union of India &
Anr. 1 , no fault could be found with the impugned judgments. It
was also urged that the appellants having already availed of
the remedy of approaching the ORT, they are estopped from
D challenging the decision of the High Court.

14. Mr. Gushil Karanjakar, learned counsel appearing on
behalf of the State of Maharashtra contended that Rule 8 of the
2002 Rules was inapplicable in the instant case, in as much
E as it deals with sale of secured assets. According to the
learned counsel, it was Rule 4 which was applicable to the facts
of the instant case. In support, reliance was placed on the
decision of this Court in Mardia Chemicals Ltd. & Ors. Vs.
Union of India & Ors. 2 •
F 15. Having bestowed our anxious consideration to the facts
at hand, we are of the opinion that the appeals are utterly
misconceived.

16. Section 13 of the Act deals with enforcement of security
G interest, providing that notwithstanding anything contained in
Sections 69 or 69A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, any
security interest created in favour of any secured creditor may
be enforced, without the court's intervention, by such creditor
1. (2008) 1 sec 12s.
H 2. (2004) 4 sec a11.
KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS. v. 611
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]
in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Section 13(2) of A
the Act provides that when a borrower, who is under a liability
to a secured creditor, makes any default in repayment of
secured debt, and his account in· respect of such debt is
classified as non-performing asset, then the secured creditor
may require the borrower, by notice in writing, to discharge hi$ B
liabilities within sixty days from the date of the notice, failing
which the secured creditor shall be entitled to exercise all or
any of the rights given in Section 13(4) of the Act. Section 13(3)
of the Act provides that the notice under Section 13(2) of the
Act shall give details of the amount payable by the borrower c
as also the details of the secured assets intended to be
enforced by the bank. Section 13(3-A) of the Act was inserted
by Act 30 of 2004 after the decision of this Court in Mardia
Chemicals (supra), and provides for a last opportunity for the
borrower to make a representation to the secured creditor D
against the classification of his account as a non-performing
asset. The secured creditor is required to consider the
representation of the borrowers, and if the secured creditor
comes to the conclusion that the representation is not tenable
or acceptable, then he must communicate, within one week of
the receipt of the communication by the borrower, the reasons E
for rejecting the same. Section 13(4) of the Act provides that if
the borrower fails to discharge his liability within the period
specified in Section 13(2), then the secured creditor, may take
recourse to. any of the following actions, to recover his debt,
namely- F

"(a) take possession of the secured assets of the borrower
including the right to transfer by way oflease, assignment
or sale for realising the sequred asset;
G
(b) take over the management of the business of the
borrower including the right to transfer by way of lease,
assignment or sale for realising the secured asset:

Provided that the right to transfer by way of lease,
assignment or sale shall be exercised only where the H
612 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 2 S.C.R.

A substantial part of the business of the borrower is held as
security for the debt:

Provided further that where the management of whole, of
the business or part of the business is severable, the
secured creditor shall take over the management of such
B
business of the borrower which is relatable to the security
for the debt;

(c) appoint any person (hereafter referred to as the
manager), to manage the secured assets the possession
c of which has been taken over by the secured creditor;

(d) require at any time by notice in writing, any person
who has acquired any of the secured assets from the
borrower and from whom any money is due or may
D become due to the borrower, to pay the secured creditor,
so much of the money as is sufficient to pay the secured
debt."

Section 14 of the Act provides that the secured creditor
can file an application before the Chief Metropolitan
E Magistrate or the District Magistrate, within whose
jurisdiction, the secured asset or other documents relating
thereto are found for taking possession thereof. If any such
request is made, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the
District Magistrate, as the case may be, is obliged to take
F possession of such asset or document and forward the
same to the secured creditor. (See: United Bank of India
Vs. Satyawati Tondon & Ors. 3). Therefore, it follows that
a secured creditor may, in order to enforce his rights under
Section 13(4), in particular Section 13(4)(a), may take
G recourse to Section 14 of the Act.

17. Section 17 of the Act which provides for an appeal to
the ORT, reads as follows:

H 3. c2010) a sec 110.
KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS. v. 613
STA~E OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.] .
"17. Right to appeal.-(1) Any person (including borrower), A
a,ggrieved by any of the measures referred to in sub-
section (4) of Section 13 taken by the secured creditor or
his authorised officer under this Chapter, may make an
application along with such fee, as may be prescribed to
the Debts Recovery Tribunal having jurisdiction in the B
n:iatter within forty-five days from the date on which such
~easures had been taken:

Rrovided that different fees may be prescribed for making
the application by the borrower and the person other than C
t~e borrower.
i

~xplanation.-For the removal of doubts it is hereby
declared that the communication of the reasons to the
borrower by the secured creditor for not having accepted
his representation or objection or the likely action of the D
s~cured creditor at the stage of communication of reasons
tq the borrower shall not entitle the person (including
borrower) to make an application to the Debts Recovery
Tribunal under sub-section (1) of Section 17.
E
(2) The Debts Recovery Tribunal shall consider whether
any of the measures referred to in sub-section (4) of
Section 13 taken by the secured creditor for enforcement
of security are in accordance with the provisions of this Act
and the rules made thereunder."
F
18. The 2002 Rules, enacted under sub-section (1) and
clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 38 read with sub-
sections (4), (10) and (12) of Section ·13 of the Act, set down
the procedure for enforcing a security interest. Rule 4 of the
2002 Rules deals with the possession of movable assets, G
whereas Rule 8 deals with the possession of immoveable
assets. It is manifest that Rule 4 has no application to the facts
of the instant case, as contended by the learned counsel for the
·state.
H
614 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2011) 2 S.C.R.

A 19. In Authorised Officer, Indian Overseas Bank & Anr.
Vs. Ashok Saw Mi/14 , the main question which fell for
determination was whether the ORT would have jurisdiction to
consider and adjudicate post Section 13(4) events or whether .
its scope in terms of Section 17 of the Act will be confined to
B the stage contemplated under Section 13(4) of the Act? On an
examination of the provisions contained in Chapter Ill of the Act,
in particular Sections 13 and 17, this Court, held as under:
"35. In order to prevent misuse of such wide powers and
to prevent prejudice being caused to a borrower on
c account of an error on the part of the banks or. financial
institutions, certain checks and balances have been
introduced in Section 17 which allow any person, including
the borrower, aggrieved by any of the measures referred
to in sub-section (4) of Section 13 taken by the secured
0 creditor, to make an application to the ORT having
jurisdiction in the matter within 45 days from the date of
such measures having taken for the reliefs indicated in
sub-section (3) thereof.

E 36. The intention of the legislature is, therefore, clear that
while the banks and financial institutions have been vested
with stringent powers for recovery of their dues, safeguards
have also been provided for rectifying any error or wrongful
use of such powers by vesting the ORT with authority after
F conducting an adjudication into the matter to declare any
such action invalid and also to restore possession even
though possession may have been made over to the
transferee.

G
39. We are unable to agree with or accept the submissions
made on behalf of the appellants that the ORT had no
jurisdiction to interfere with the action taken by the secured
creditor after the stage contemplated under Section 13(4)
H 4. (2009) a sec 366.
KANAIYALAL LALCHAND SACHDEV AND ORS. v. 615
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]
of the Act. On the other hand, the law is otherwise and it A
contemplates that the action taken by a secured creditor
in terms of Section 13(4) is open to scrutiny and cannot
only be set aside but even the status quo ante can be
restored by the ORT."
B
(Emphasis supplied by us)

20. We are in respectful agreement with the above
enunciation of law on the point. It is manifest that an action
under Section 14 of the Act constitutes an action taken after
the stage of Section 13(4), and therefore, the same would fall C
within the ambit of Section 17(1) of the Act. Thus, the Act itself
contemplates an efficacious remedy for the borrower or any
person affected by an action under Section 13(4) of the Act,
by providing for an appeal before the ORT.
D
21. In our opinion, therefore, the High Court rightly
dismissed the petition on the ground that an efficacious remedy
was available to the appellants under Section 17 of the Act. It
is well-settled that ordinarily relief under Articles 226/227 of the
Constitution of India is not available if an efficacious alternative E
remedy is available to any aggrieved person. (See: Sadhana
Lodh Vs. National Insurance Co. Ltd. & Anr. 5 ; Surya Dev Rai
Vs. Ram Chander Rai & Ors. 6 ; State Bank of India Vs. Allied
Chemical Laboratories & Anr. 7). In City and lndu~trial
Development Corporation Vs. Dosu Aardeshir Bhiwandiwala
& Ors.8, this Court had observed that: F
"The Court while exercising its jurisdiction under Article
226 is duty-bound to consider whether:
(a) adjudication of writ petition involves any complex and G

5. (2003) 3 sec 524.
a. (2003) a sec 675.
1. (2006) e sec 252.
a. <20.oe> 1 sec 168. H
616 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011) 2 S.C.R.

A disputed questions of facts and whether they can be .
satisfactorily resolved;

{b) the petition reveals all material facts;

(c) the petitioner has any alternative or effective remedy
B for the resolution of the dispute;

(d) person invoking the jurisdiction is guilty of unexplained
delay and !aches;

c (e) ex facie barred by any laws of limitation;
(f) grant of relief is against public policy or barred by any
valid law; and host of other factors."
22. In the instant case, apart from the fact that admittedly
D certain disputed questions of fact viz. non-receipt of notice
under Section 13(2) of the Act. non-communication of the order
of the Chief Judicial Magistrate etc. are involved, an efficacious
statutory remedy of appeal under Section 17 of the Act was
available to the appellants, who ultimately availed of the same.
E Therefore, having regard to the facts obtaining in the case, the
High Court was fully justified in declining to exercise its
jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

23. For the foregoing reasons, the impugned judgments
cannot be flawed, warranting interference by this Court.
F Accordingly, the appeals, being devoid of any merit, are
dismissed with costs, quantified at Rs. 20,000/-.
D.G. Appeals dismissed.