Sri Utpal Kumar Bhattacharya, Member
This is an Appeal u/s 27A of the C.P Act, 1986 filed by the Appellant/JDr challenging the judgment and order dated 18.01.2017 passed by the Ld. District Forum, North-24 Parganas, Barasat towards revoking the W/A issued earlier which was kept in abeyance and issuing at the same time fresh warrant of arrest against the Manager, Axis Bank, Salt Lake City Branch, the Appellant/JDr, due to non-compliance of the order passed by the Ld. Lok Adalat dated 14.03.2015 settling the dispute between the parties.
Heard both sides and considered their submissions.
It appeared on perusal of the available papers on record that the Appellant/JDr was directed to withdraw the amount of Rs. 47,415/- deposited by the Respondent/DHr with the District Forum towards adjustment of existing loan amount. The formalities which the Appellant/JDr was supposed to observe was to file a petition for withdrawal of the said amount immediately after the order for settlement was passed by the Ld. Lok Adalat so as to enable himself to observe the other directions of the Lok Adalat which he did not do.
He appeared to have disobeyed the order of the Ld. Lok Adalat further by making two successive withdrawals of Rs. 33,560/- and Rs. 12,151.39 on 20.01.2016 and 26.02.2016 respectively towards adjustment of the same existing loan from the salary Account of the Respondent/DHr although he has specifically barred to do so in the order of the Ld. Lok Adalat.
It further appeared from running page 18 that one copy of the petition dated 18th April, 2015 was filed on behalf of the Appellant/JDr praying for releasing the money deposited with the Forum by the Respondent/DHr. The application, an unsigned one, appeared to have been drafted in a lackadaisical manner and filed nearly three months after the order was passed by the Ld. Lok Adalat.
The impugned judgment and order also made it clear that the cheque releasing the subject amount was issued after due processing and the same was lying with the Ld. District Forum for long. The Appellant/JDr, as revealed from the order, in spite of intimation for receiving the cheque being sent to him, did not come up for receiving the same for settling the issue once for all, rather, his own inaction led the complications develope to its present dimension.
The Ld. District Forum also rightly observed that the order was not carried out by the Respondent/DHr also by not depositing Rs. 485/-, the processing charges, with the Appellant/DHr in terms of the order of the Ld. Lok Adalat.
The record, however, revealed that the Appellant/JDr after releasing the due amount had issued the NOC and took it up with the concerned authority to remove the name of the Respondent/DHr from the CIBIL.
There was conspicuous lack of initiative on the part of the Appellant/JDr for the issue to be drawn to a close.
We, of course, are also of the opinion that issuing warrant and taking the Appellant/JDr into custody will only lead to further delay in disposal of a case which is already sufficiently delayed, frustrating the initiative of the Consumer Fora and Lok Adalat to settle the dispute permanently.
We appreciate that the Ld. District Forum had made no mistake in assessing the merit of the Execution Case against the Appellant because of non-compliance of the order.
We in the given circumstances are inclined to withdraw the warrant of arrest directed to be issued by the Ld. District Forum, if it is already issued. We, however, intend to direct the Appellant/JDr to take step for withdrawal of the amount deposited with the Ld. District Forum by the Respondent/DHr and take appropriate step to adjust the loan amount debited for the purpose from the Account of the Respondent/DHr in violation of the order of the Lok Adalat within 7 days from the order and submit himself before the Ld. District Forum which would dispose of the execution proceedings in proper appreciation of the extent of violation of the order and loss allegedly sustained by the Respondent/DHr because of such violation, keeping in view its own observation in the impugned order about non-compliance of the Ld. Lok Adalat’s order on the part of the Respondent/DHr also.
Hence,
ORDERED
that the Appeal is allowed in part. The case is being remanded to the Ld. District Forum with the above observation and direction to both parties to appear before the Ld. District Forum on 28.05.2019.
