Rs 10cr Hc Decree Against Swc
The Calcutta High Court yesterday passed a decree of Rs 10 crore, with 14 per cent interest, against liquor giant Shaw Wallace and Company Ltd, on two suits filed by Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd for non-payment of inter-corporate deposits.
A division bench of Justice Ruma Pal and Justice D K Jain also directed the court-appointed receiver to sell the 44,000 shares of Tide Water Oil Company (India) Ltd which SWC agreed to pledge. The appeal was filed by Bennett Coleman challenging the order of trial court, directing the maintenance status quo in respect of those shares.
Earlier, in October last, Bennett Coleman had filed two suits against the Manu Chhabria-managed SWC for non payment of dues amounting over Rs 10 crore. The trial court had passed an order appointing a receiver for the purpose of selling the pledged shares and directed both the parties to file affidavits.
After filing of affidavits, the case came up for hearing in the court of Justice S K Singha, who passed an order for maintaining status-quo in respect of those pledged shares.
Against this order, Bennett Coleman had moved the division bench. The company stated that the claim was in respect of money lent and advanced and that SWC had no defence to the claim.
SWC, opposing the appeal, said that Bennett Coleman had already appropriated its claim against the value of those pledged shares.