The Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) has won a decree from Calcutta High Court for recovering Rs 5.82 crore from Dinesh Kumar Singhania, one of the defaulters who brought the bourse down to its knees last year.
The court order empowers CSE to execute the decree unless the erring broker clears his outstanding with interest within 21 days.
The high court verdict -- passed by the Justice Girish Chandra Gupta on September 20 -- is a shot in the arm of the local bourse, which is fighting to recover over Rs 90 crore from defaulting brokers, including Singhania and his group companies.
Singhania, along with other two defaulting broking firms led by Harish Chandra Biyani and Ashok Kumar Poddar, owe nearly Rs 30 crore each to the exchange as their pay-out obligations.
CSE filed the case before the Calcutta High Court asking for a decree for recovery of outstanding from Singhania within two months after the bourse was rocked by the payment crisis in March 31, 2001.
Ajoy Chatterjee, Prasanta Dutta and Soumen Sen appeared for CSE. In its application, CSE prepared a list of assets of Singhania comprising a house at Salt Lake, a Honda City car, an account with IndusInd Bank and his shares in companies namely BPS Stock Private Ltd, BPS Securities Private Ltd, Tripoli Consultancy Private Ltd, BPS Financiers & Consultants and his three dematerisalised accounts with Marthan Securities and Dalmia Securities.
Singhania was to pay the exchange Rs 91.45 crore towards his payout obligation in three settlements beginning 2001148. Of this, Singhania cleared a portion of his outstanding and CSE adjusted sale proceeds of his securities kept with it leaving a net outstanding of Rs 5.82 crore.
The high court order would certainly provide comfort to the cash-starved exchange, Lyons Range sources said. Local brokers were uncertain whether Singhania still owned the properties mentioned by CSE leaving a question mark on to what extent the decree would be executed if Singhania did not cough up his outstanding.
Legal experts said CSE might receive favourable orders from the high court against other defaulters.
