G.S.Patel, J. - (1.) Over a year has gone past since this Petition was fled. In that time these two Respondents, undoubtedly indebted to the Petitioner, have done three thingsd One, they have repeatedly promised to pay. Two, they have then attempted to deny liability, only to admit it later. Three, they have made payment of an amount of only Rs. 50 lakhs just a few days ago. Including contractually stipulated interest, the Petitioner's claim is a little more than Rs. 23 croresd The principal component itself (without reckoning the Rs. 50 lakh payment) is Rs. 14.88 crores.
(2.) I have noted these broad factors at the very beginning just to give a conspectus of where the matter stands.
(3.) The factual background is thisd The Petitioner (" Kotak Mahindra "), is a banking companyd The 1st Respondent, Williamson Magor, carries on a variety of businessesd The 1st Respondent itself is a corporate promoter of other companies including one McNally Bharat Engineering Co Ltd (" McNally Bharat "). The 2nd Respondent (" Khaitan ") is the chairman and one of the promoters of Williamson Magord The Respondents have various other associated corporate entities including Eveready Industries India Ltd, McLeod Russel India Limited and so ond All these are part of the Khaitan Group.;