Conditional Stay Granted: Bikaner House Attachment Halted

The Patiala House Court has issued a conditional stay on the attachment of Delhi's Bikaner House, pending a deposit by Nagar Palika Naukha, Rajasthan. The case stems from a 2020 arbitration award. The next hearing is set for January 7, 2025.

On Friday, the Patiala House Court granted a conditional stay on the attachment of Delhi's Bikaner House, contingent upon the deposit of the due amount within a week. District Judge (Commercial) Vidya Prakash provided interim relief on the condition that the required Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) is submitted in the court within the specified timeframe.

Legal representatives of Nagar Palika Naukha, Rajasthan, were present during the hearing. This case pertains to an arbitration award favoring a company that collaborated with Nagar Palika Naukha in 2011. The court scheduled the next hearing for January 7, 2025.

Recent developments saw the issuance of a warrant of attachment for Bikaner House, owned by Nagar Palika Nokha of Rajasthan, following an arbitral award in favor of M/S ENVIRO INFRA ENGINEERS PVT LTD. Advocate Sahil Garg, representing the decree-holder company, stated that failure to deposit the FDR would lead to a filing for auctioning the attached property, valued around one crore.

Previously, the court had ordered the attachment due to noncompliance with its directives. The court noted the continuous failure of the Judgement Debtor to submit an affidavit of assets, despite multiple opportunities. Consequently, it deemed the case suitable for issuing attachment warrants against the immovable property of the Judgement Debtor.

The court's order highlighted that Nagar Palika, Nokha failed to satisfy an arbitration award from January 2020 for Rs 50,31,512 and restrained further transfer or financial leveraging of Bikaner House. The Judgment Debtor's appeal against the arbitral award, filed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, was dismissed in January 2024.

(With inputs from agencies.)