Ajit Kumar Routh v. Union Of India And ORS.

12.08.2021.

Item No. 125.

Court No.13 ap W.P.A. No. 11516 of 2021 (Through Video Conference) Ajit Kumar Routh

Versus

The Union of India & Ors.

Mr. Saibal Acharya, Mr. Rajib Kumar Acharya, Mr. Banshi Badan Maity, Mr. Goutam Malik.

..For the petitioner.

Mr. P. K. Dutt, Mr. S.K. Dutt, Mr. Syamantak Banerjee.

..For the SEBI.

Mr. Om Narayan Rai.

...For the State Bank of India.

Mr. Y.J. Dastoor, ld. A.S.G.

Mr. Phiroze Edulji, Ms. Debjani Ghosal.

...For the respondent nos.1,2,5,6 & 8.

Affidavit-of-service filed in Court today is taken on record.

The petitioner is aggrieved by an order of the Securities Exchange Board of India (in short SEBI) under Section 11 of the Securities Exchange Board of India Act, directing recovery of a sum in excess of Rs.2 crores, inter alia, against the writ petitioner. In execution of such order, the SEBI directed the State Bank of India in three several orders to freeze the account, inter alia, of the writ petitioner and also recover any sums of money available therein.

Pursuant thereto, the State Bank of India has debited a sum of Rs.80,000/- and odd from the

account of the writ petitioner and has transmitted the same to the SEBI.

Counsel for the petitioner submits that his client is working as a carpenter and has been wrongly named as a Director of the URO Infra Realty Limited. The claim of the petitioner is that he may have worked as deposit collection agent of the Basil Group of Companies which has got no connection with the URO Infra Realty Limited.

Since the orders of the SEBI are appealable before the Securities Appellate Tribunal, granting the liberty to the petitioner to approach such Tribunal, the instant writ petition is dismissed. For the aforesaid purpose, if the petitioner makes an application before the Securities Appellate Tribunal within thirty days from date, the same may be admitted and heard out before the Tribunal in accordance with law.

It is made clear that this Court has not, in any way, adjudicated or decided upon any of the claims made by the petitioner against the respondents. Since the respondents have not used any affidavit, the claim made in this writ petition shall not be deemed to have been admitted by them.

Photostat copies of the three orders of attachment passed by the SEBI are kept with the record.

There will be no order as to costs.

All parties are directed to act on a server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

(Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)