Full Judgment Text
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NON
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.5673 OF 2008
(Arising out of SLP©No.21077 of 2006)
Mariamma Roy ….Appellant
Versus
Indian Bank & Ors. ….Respondents
O R D E R
1. Leave granted.
2.
This appeal is directed against the judgment and
th
final order dated 25 of October, 2006 passed by a
learned Judge of the High Court of Kerala at
Ernakulam in W.P.(C)No.22642 of 2006 by which
the writ petition was dismissed on the ground of
availability of an alternative remedy to the
appellant.
3. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties
and examined the impugned order as well as the
other materials on record. After examining the
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impugned order as well as the materials on record,
we are of the view that the order of the High Court
cannot be sustained. Before the High Court, the
appellant sought to contend that before passing the
impugned order, the appellant was not at all issued
with any notice. The High Court, however, without
going into the question whether the notice was at all
served on the appellant or not, dismissed the writ
petition only on the ground that the appellant has
got a right of appeal against the impugned order
under the provisions of the Recovery of Debts due
to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993. In
our view, the High Court was not justified in
passing the impugned order on the aforesaid
ground. It is well settled that even if an alternative
remedy was available to an aggrieved party against
a particular order, but if it was open to such party
to move a writ application and the court has the
power to entertain the same if it finds that while
passing the order there has been a violation of the
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principle of natural justice. That being the position,
in the present case the appellant was not served
with any notice before passing the impugned order.
That being the position and without going into the
merits, the impugned order is set aside and the
matter is remitted back to the High Court for
decision on merits in accordance with law. The High
Court is requested to dispose of the writ petition at
an early date preferably within six months from the
date of supply of a copy of this order to it. We make
it clear that we have not gone into the merits of the
dispute raised by the parties before us, all
questions are left open to be decided by the High
Court in accordance with law. The impugned order
is, therefore, set aside and the appeal is allowed to
the extent indicated above. There will be no order as
to costs
……………………….J
[Tarun Chatterjee]
New Delhi; ………………
………J.
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September 16, 2008. [Aftab Alam]