Gujarat HC Suspends Debtors’ Arrest Warrant, Lets Creditor Withdraw ₹20 Lakh Against Security Subject to Appeal Outcome

The petitioners challenged, under Article 227 of the Constitution, an order dated 2 May 2026 made below Exhibit 22 in Special Execution No. 13 of 2025.

The execution concerned a money decree for Rs. 46,02,501 with interest at 24% per annum, and an arrest warrant had been issued in the execution proceedings.

The petitioners had challenged the decree in Regular Civil Appeal No. 277 of 2025 before the District Court, Vadodara; their application to stay the decree had been rejected, and a separate petition concerning that rejection was pending.

By an earlier order in this petition, the High Court permitted the petitioners to deposit Rs. 20 lakh with the Executing Court, and the petitioners complied.

At the hearing, the parties jointly sought suspension of the warrant and a stay of execution until the appeal was decided, and agreed that the respondent could withdraw the deposited amount against solvent security.

The petition invoked the High Court’s supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution.

The judgment identifies no statutory provision or precedent as the basis for its final directions.

The Court noted that the petitioners had complied with the direction to deposit Rs. 20 lakh and that the appeal against the decree remained pending, with the petitioners’ arguments already concluded.

In light of the parties’ joint request, and without expressing any view on the merits, it allowed the decree-holder to withdraw the deposit against solvent security, subject to the appeal’s final outcome, while suspending the warrant and staying execution until that outcome.

The Court also requested the Appellate Court to decide the appeal as early as possible and preserved the parties’ rights and contentions.

The respondent decree-holder may withdraw Rs. 20 lakh, with accrued interest, upon furnishing solvent security to the Executing Court’s satisfaction; the withdrawal is subject to the outcome of Regular Civil Appeal No. 277 of 2025.

The warrant was suspended and the execution proceedings stayed until the appeal is finally decided, and the Appellate Court was requested to decide the appeal as early as possible.

The Court made the Rule absolute to that extent, without prejudice to the parties’ rights and contentions.