AIR 2019 KERALA 134

Kerala High Court

Hon'ble Judge(s): Hrishikesh Roy , C.J. AND A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar , J

(A) Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act (51 of 1993) , S.19, S.25, S.29, S.31A— Income-Tax Act (43 of 1961) , Second Sch. R.68B— Equitable mortgage - Applicability of R. 68B - Attachment of immovable property prior to its sale is not a pre-condition in case of equitable mortgage. Transfer of Property Act (4 of 1882) , S.58(f)— Mortgage was one created by deposit of title deeds, there was no necessity for the bank to resort to a procedure for attachment of the property as a pre-condition for, or prior to, the sale thereof. Rule 68B of the Second Schedule to the IT Act clearly mandates that no sale of immovable property shall be made after the expiry of three years from the end of the financial year in which the order giving rise to a demand of dues became conclusive. In the context of the recovery steps initiated under the RDDBFI Act, this would translate as three years from the end of the financial year in which the recovery certificate was issued. The phrase 'shall, as far as possible, apply with necessary modifications as if the said provisions and the rules referred to the amount of debt due under this Act instead of to the Income-tax Act' appearing in Section 29 of the RDDBFI clearly indicates that the words 'for the recovery of which the immovable property has been attached' appearing in Rule 68B are wholly irrelevant, when an attachment....