Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J. - (1.) The present challenge under Article 227 of the Constitution of India has been taken out against an order of the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata, affirming an order of the Debts Recovery Tribunal, whereby it had directed the Chairman, Assets Sale Committee to disburse the interest on delayed payment of gratuity to the employees as per the report of the Chartered Accountant, L.B. Jha & Co. The said disbursement was directed not to exceed forty per cent of the sale proceeds, that is, Rs.15,00,10,000/- (Rupees Fifteen Crore Ten Thousand) and in any case not to exceed the outer limit fixed, that is, Rs.20 crore, for the employees.
(2.) The said order of the tribunal was based on a previous consent order dated February 11, 2004, recording a settlement arrived at between the parties to several original proceedings pending before the Kolkata Debts Recovery Tribunal. A consortium of five banks, out of which the present opposite party no. 1 was one, the present petitioner, namely, Amrita Bazaar Patrika (the employer) and its sister concerns, who were the principal borrowers and the guarantors, were parties to the said proceedings, although the employees, represented by the opposite party no. 2, were not.
(3.) The crux of the agreement between the parties was recorded in paragraph no. 5 of the said consent order dated February 11, 2004, which is set out below: "5) The parties have agreed to settle the decretal amounts of United Bank of India (T.A. No. 18 of 1997, T.A. No. 19 of 1997) and the claims of the applicant banks in OA No. 192 of 1997, OA No. 193 of 1997 and O.A. No. 275 of 1997 in the following manner: (a) The consortium banks have agreed to settle their respective claims against the defendants by accepting the following amounts by 30th June, 2004. i) Rs.2439.65 lakhs by United Bank of India ii) Rs.304.35 lakhs by Canara Bank iii) Rs.303.13 lakhs by Bank of Baroda iv) Rs.228.16 lakhs by Allahabad Bank v) Rs.230.67 lakhs by Punjab National Bank vi) Rs.57 lacs towards legal expenses incurred by the consortium banks. Besides the above, payment of Rs.2439.65 lacs to be received by United Bank of India: United Bank of India will also receive Rs.150 lacs towards settlement of its dues in respect of Allahabad Patrika Ltd. in O.A. 275 of 1997 out of the sale proceeds. In addition to the same, the United Bank of India, the applicant herein will also receive the cost of publication, payment of valuers' remuneration etc. incurred by it in connection with the sale of the assets/properties out of the sale proceeds. (b) A committee consisting of the Receiver Mr. K.P. Mishra already appointed by the Tribunal and one representative from each of the applicants and one representative representing the three companies viz. Amrita Bazar Patrika Pvt. Ltd., Allahabad Patrika Ltd. and Jugantar Ltd. and one representative from defendant No. 4 to 9 will take possession of all the hypothecated assets and mortgaged properties being the securities of the applicant banks and they will dispose of in the best possible manner as expeditiously as possible. The quorum of the committee will be four members present and any decision of the majority will be binding on all the parties. The receiver will be the Chairman of the Committee. (c) Out of the sale proceeds of hypothecated assets and mortgaged properties as contained in Annexure I & II of to-day's joint petition the committee would pay i) 40% to the applicant banks (consortium banks): ii) 40% of the sale proceeds of the assets will be paid to the workers/employees towards their dues to the maximum extent of Rs.15 crore; iii) 20% of the sale proceeds will be utilised by the said three companies for meeting various dues of other creditors. (d) After the dues of workers/employees to the extent of Rs.15 crores are paid the sharing of the sale proceeds between the applicants (consortium banks) and the three companies (Amrita Bazar Patrika Pvt. Ltd., Allahabad Patrika Ltd. and Jugantar Ltd.) will be in proportion of 70 : 30. In the event the sale proceeds exceeds the valuation price, the excess amount shall be shared in the ratio of 40% to the consortium banks and 60% to the companies and the workers/employees as per their arrangements. Further in the event the workers/employees dues turn out to be more than Rs.15 crores, the additional amount payable to the workers/employees will be made out of the share of the company from sale proceeds. (e) The Committee will continue to function for the purpose of realisation of the claims of the applicant banks from the hypothecated assets and mortgaged properties mentioned in Annexure I & II of the joint petition filed to-day till completion of sale of the all the assets. (f) The Committee will disburse the sale proceeds of the assets and properties of the respondents mentioned in annexures I & II of the joint petition and distribute the same among the applicants in proportion of their settled dues mentioned above. In the event the committee fails to function and discharge its duties in accordance with the aforesaid terms and conditions then the Receiver will carry out the functions of the committees alone and make disbursement according to the agreement herein.";