The Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) has ordered the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 30,000 as "costs" to IFCI Ltd and the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) within a day for its "lethargy, negligence, inaptitude and carelessness".
The tribunal has also been asked to deposit Rs 28 crore within two months, before its appeal against the Mumbai debt recovery tribunal (DRT) order can be taken up for hearing.
Justice Pratibha Upasani, chairperson of the DRAT, came down heavily on the state government saying: "Apparently, a false statement has been made by the state government that it came to know of the DRT order in 2002."
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The DRAT orders were issued on Wednesday and Friday on the applications filed by the state government for a "condonation of delay" in filing its appeal against the DRT's order of July 10, 2001, and an application for waiving the requirement to deposit 75 per cent of the decreed amount before its appeal could be taken up for hearing.
The state government had sought a waiver of the condition that 75 per cent of its dues decreed by DRT-II, Mumbai, be deposited within two months before the "compliance hearing" could be taken up by the DRAT on March 17, 2002.
Says a legal source: "The waiver can be granted only if the appellant can prove his economic condition is weak. The Maharashtra government counsel made no such submission in the application."
Justice Upasani said: "In the application for condonation of delay, government counsel Ranjan Dharmadhikari submitted though the delay was of 466 days, it was not intentional. He submitted the judgement and order were passed ex parte and the state government came to know about it on October 10, 2002. It is, therefore, evident the appellants did not respond to the proceedings."
The judge's order said: "The application for condonation of delay is hereby allowed subject to payment of Rs 30,000 equally to IFCI and IDBI by Thursday."