- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) This appeal, by special leave, has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 17.8.2005 of Delhi High Court, by which a direction was issued to the appellant Oriental Bank of Commerce to declare the respondents" account as Non-Performing Asset (NPA) from 31st March, 2000 and to apply the Reserve Bank of India Guidelines to their case and communicate the outstandings which shall be recoverable by quarterly instalments over a period of two years.
(3.) The respondents Sunder Lal Jain & another were sanctioned credit facility for Rs.20 lakhs on 12.12.1996. The respondent defaulted in repayment of the amount and their account was declared as NPA on 31.3.2001. On 21.2.2002, the appellant Oriental Bank of Commerce filed a petition against the respondents being O.A. No.21 of 2002 before the Debt Recovery Tribunal-III, Delhi (for short "the DRT"). The DRT passed a decree in favour of the appellant for recovery of Rs.20,27,862/- along with interest on 14.11.2003. The appellant initiated execution proceedings for recovery of the amount from the respondents and a recovery certificate was issued on 8.12.2003. The respondents did not file any appeal challenging the decree passed by the DRT. Instead, the respondents filed WP(C) No.559 of 2005 and WP(C) No.560 of 2004 before Delhi High Court praying that a direction be issued to the appellant, Oriental Bank of Commerce, to declare their account as NPA from 31.3.2000 and apply RBI Guidelines for reconciliation and settling the accounts with them. The petitions were disposed of by a short order on 17.8.2005 which reads as under :- "The petitioners have a remedy available to them of filing an appeal against the recovery proceedings to the DRT which remedy has not been taken and for which this petition is liable to be rejected. However, since this petition has been pending for quite some time before this Court and the first Respondent has agreed to consider declaring the account as NPA from 31st March, 2000, there is no impediment in disposing of this petition by the following order : First Respondent-Bank is directed to declare the Petitioner"s account as NPA from 31st March, 2000 and apply the RBI guidelines to their case and then to communicate the outstandings, which shall be recoverable by quarterly instalments over a period of two years. In case, this course works out and Petitioners after reconciling their accounts do not commit any default, the execution proceedings against them pending before the Recovery Officer shall be stayed and the recovery certificate passed against them shall stand cancelled. However, in case of default it shall be open to the first Respondent-Bank to activate the recovery proceedings against them. In that event, it shall be open to the Petitioners to take any appropriate remedy, which they may have against the recovery certificate or its execution in law." Feeling aggrieved by the above noted order, the appellant, Oriental Bank of Commerce, has preferred this appeal. ;