HC imposes Rs 25K fine on pvt firm for wrongly arraying officer

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000 on a Salem-based private company for unwantedly arraying a central government officer as a respondent in a contempt petition.

Justice R Suresh Kumar passed the direction on closing a contempt petition filed by Salem Textiles Limited represented by its authorized representative P Rajaram.

The petitioner approached the court for a direction to punish the Deputy General Manager, of Industrial Financial Corporation of India Ltd and Manoj Mittal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, of Industrial Financial Corporation of India Ltd, New Delhi for not obeying the court order in connection with the One Time Settlement offer made by him.

According to the petitioner firm, it was ready to settle the loan through the one-time settlement offer, but it was not considered by the corporation. Hence, he approached the court and got a direction in 2021 for the Corporation to act in accordance with the law.

When the matter was taken by the judge, the counsel for the Industrial Financial Corporation of India Limited submitted that while the contempt petition was filed, the petitioner had arrayed the deputy general manager as the respondent.

However, after that, the petitioner arrayed the Managing director of Industrial Financial Corporation of India Ltd as the respondent.

Recording submissions, the judge imposed Rs 25,000 cost on the company for arraying the MD of Industrial Financial Corporation of India Ltd is illegal.

"The innocent officers, like the respondent, should not have been troubled like this, and because of the action in the cavalier manner adopted by the petitioner," the judge ruled.