A bidder cannot revive an auction after requesting and receiving a refund of the deposit.

The petitioner was declared the successful bidder at a bank e-auction of an industrial property and deposited 25% of the bid amount. The balance 75% was payable by 31 July 2026.

Citing a pending suit and an interim injunction affecting part of the property, he wrote to the Bank seeking an extension until the proceedings were resolved and, alternatively, requesting a full refund of the 25% deposit if the Bank could not grant the extension.

On 31 July 2026, the Bank refunded the deposit. The petitioner then sought to continue with the auction and pay the balance, but the Bank declined.

The petitioner sought a direction requiring the Bank to confirm the sale; the High Court dismissed the petition.

1. Whether the Bank was required to permit the petitioner to continue with the auction after refunding the 25% deposit in response to his alternative request for a full refund.

2. Whether the petitioner was entitled to a direction requiring the Bank to confirm the sale and issue a sale certificate.

The judgment refers to the sale as an e-auction conducted under the SARFAESI Act and on an “as is where is” basis, but it does not identify a specific statutory provision or cite any precedent.

The Court applied the principle that where a bidder expressly requests a refund if an extension is not granted and the Bank refunds the deposit in response, the transaction is brought to an end; the bidder cannot then unilaterally revive it by changing their position.

The petitioner’s letter did not merely seek an extension: it also clearly asked for the 25% deposit to be refunded in full if the Bank could not grant that request.

The Bank refunded the amount, thereby acting on that alternative request. The Court held that this brought the transaction to an end, and the petitioner’s subsequent expression of an intention to proceed could not require the Bank to continue the cancelled auction.

The petitioner could instead participate in any future auction conducted by the Bank.

The writ petition was dismissed, and no direction to confirm the sale or issue a sale certificate was granted.