Madurai: The Madras high court has imposed 50,000 cost on the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Limited (TIIC) for failing to hand over physical possession of a property in Kanyakumari to an auction purchaser.

The court was hearing the petition filed by Jasper Raj. The branch manager/authorised officer of the corporation, Nagercoil branch, had brought the secured asset for sale and had sold the same to the petitioner. A certificate of sale was also issued. However, physical possession of the property was not handed over to the petitioner.

When the petitioner approached the Kanyakumari district collector seeking possession, it was clarified that if the secured creditor, namely the corporation, files an application under the SARFAESI Act, 2002, action will be taken for delivery of possession. The collector had written to the corporation to take action for delivery. Since the physical possession of the property was not handed over, the petitioner moved the Madurai bench of the Madras high court.

A division bench of justice R Subramanian and justice L Victoria Gowri observed that the facts narrated above shows the highly irresponsible, negligible and careless manner in which the corporation has behaved. Special provisions were made for recovery of due, to such irresponsible corporations under the SARFAESI Act, 2002. A special machinery is provided under the Act to such corporations to take possession of the property and hand over the same to the auction purchaser.

All that the petitioner asked for is to invoke the provision under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002 and seek possession through the district collector or the chief judicial magistrate. In view of the refusal to hand over possession to the auction purchaser, the court firmly believes that the corporation is in collusion with the debtor.

Hence, the judges directed the corporation to file an application before the collector within 10 days and directed the collector to dispose of the said application filed under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, within a period of 30 days thereafter. Any deviation therefrom will be viewed seriously.

For its refusal to carry out the statutory obligations and having made the petitioner to approach this court, the judges imposed a cost of 50,000 on the corporation and directed to pay the same to the petitioner, within 10 days.