Contempt of court: HC raps IFCI chief and recovery officer of DRT

Source ;Vivek Sinha, Hindustan Times:9 Feb 2012

Troubles for Atul Kumar Rai, the chief executive officer and managing director of state-owned financial institution IFCI (Industrial Finance Corporation of India), are showing no signs of ending.

Two months after a parliamentary committee found irregularities in his appointment, 

 the  Delhi high court has rapped him on contempt of court charges for defiance of the court’s orders.

The order passed on February 6, 2012 by the court further mandates that Rai be present in court on February 24, 2012 when the court pronounces punishment on contempt charges.

“…I hold IFCI Ltd, its CEO and MD Mr Atul Kumar, its assistant general manager (law) Ms Shalini Soni and Mr RK Bansal, recovery officer of DRT (debt recovery tribunal) guilty of contempt of this court for wilful defiance of the direction of this court given on October 8, 2009,” Justice PK Bhasin said in his order.

Rai did not respond to calls, messages and email send by HT.

The case and subsequent court orders relate to the winding up of telecommunications firm Koshika Telecom to which IFCI was a creditor. Before the high court’s order to wind up Koshika, a DRT had already auctioned some of its (Koshika’s) assets and deposited the sales proceeds of Rs 12 crore with IFCI Ltd.

Thereafter, on a report from official liquidator, the court passed an order on October 8, 2009, directing IFCI to remit this money with the official liquidator.

However, IFCI failed to do so and approached the DRT, an authority subordinate to the HC. “IFCI had approached an authority subordinate to this court….for seeking permission to appropriate the sale proceeds of the assets the company (Koshika Telecom),” Judge Bhasin said in his order.