SABYASACHI BHATTACHARYYA,J. - (1.) Petitioner No. 1-company is engaged in rice mill business. Petitioner No.2 is a promoter director and petitioner no. 3 an incoming director and shareholder of the company. The respondent, a statutory financial corporation, granted a term loan of Rs. 300 lakh and working capital term loan of Rs. 245.10 lakh to the petitioner no. 1-company on certain conditions, as per a sanction letter dated April 22, 2015.
(2.) Petitioner no. 1 set up a rice mill, but subsequently failed to repay periodical instalments of the loan, prompting the respondent to issue a notice under Section 29(1), read with Section 30, of the State Financial Corporation Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1951 Act") for recovery of the loan. As evinced from the minutes of a meeting held at the factory premises on February 12, 2020 (Annexure P-8 at page 51 of the writ petition), officials of the respondentcorporation, upon taking an inventory, took over possession of the fixed assets of the unit of petitioner no.1 on as-is-where-is basis, without management and liabilities. Since the unit was found in running condition, physical possession was not taken by affixing padlocks. Officials of petitioner no. 1 were appointed as custodians of the mortgaged/hypothecated assets till any alternative arrangement was made.
(3.) Meanwhile, petitioner no. 1, by a letter dated February 7, 2020, agreed to pay Rs. 25 lakh within February 10, 2020, a further sum of Rs. 25 lakh within March 15, 2020 and another Rs. 25 lakh within March 31, 2020, totalling Rs. 75 lakh. It was also indicated that petitioner no. 3 would come in as a director of the petitioner no.1- company and will hold 60 per cent share, while the other existing directors will hold the rest 40 per cent shares. Acceptance by the respondent of such induction of petitioner no. 3 was also sought in the letter.;