SEPCO ELECTRIC POWER CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION REPRESENTED BY ITS AUTHORISED SIGNATORY AND COMMERCIAL MANAGER WANG FENGLIANG Vs. STATE BANK OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is presented by a Chinese Company challenging the order dated 3.11.2017 in Miscellaneous Appeal No.184/2017 passed by the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal at Chennai ('DRAT' for short), dismissing the appeal presented by the petitioner against a common order dated 3.10.2017 passed on I.A.No.1609 of 2017 and connected interlocutory applications by the Debts Recovery Tribunal-II, Karnataka, at Bengaluru ('DRT' for short), confirming an order of ad-interim injunction in favour of the respondent-Bank and vacating the Garnishee order.

(2.) Heard Shri Aditya Sondhi, learned Senior Counsel for petitioner and Shri K.G. Raghavan, learned Senior Counsel for respondent.

(3.) Finite facts necessary for adjudication of this writ petition are, petitioner entered into certain EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contracts with an Indian Company called M/s.GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited ('GMRKEL' for short), for designing and constructing a project for setting up a coal based thermal power plant in Kamalanga Village in Odissha. In the course of business, the petitioner obtained 12 local bank guarantees from the respondent, State Bank of India ('SBI' for short), for due performance of the contracts. The bank guarantees were issued by SBI's Overseas Branch situated at Bengaluru, based on 12 counter guarantees issued by SBI, Shanghai Branch. In turn, SBI, Shanghai Branch, was backed by 12 irrevocable unconditional counter guarantees issued by 3 Chinese Banks [namely, (i) Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Shandong Provincial Branch, China ("ICBC"); (ii) Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Jinan Branch, Shanghai, China ("SPDB") and (iii) China Construction Bank ("CCB") in favour of SBI's Shanghai Branch].