Delhi court orders attachment of Bikaner House; Rajasthan govt issues instructions for 'corrective actions'

A Delhi court has ordered the attachment of Bikaner House due to the Nokha municipal council's failure to pay Rs 50.31 lakh in arbitral awards to Enviro Infra Engineers Private Limited, prompting the Rajasthan government to take corrective action.

New Delhi: Following a Delhi court's action against the Nokha municipal council in Rajasthan to attach the iconic Bikaner House, the Rajasthan government issued instructions to take 'corrective actions'. The court order came after the council failed to pay a whopping Rs 50.31 lakh arbitral award to Enviro Infra Engineers Private Limited, despite repeated opportunities.

The arbitral award, passed in January 2020, had attained finality after the council's appeal was dismissed earlier this year. District Judge Vidya Prakash noted in the order passed on September 18 that the council's non-compliance with court directions left no choice but to issue warrants of attachment against Bikaner House.

"Keeping in view the fact that the Judgement Debtor (JD) had failed to comply with the direction for furnishing affidavit of their assets despite grant of repeated opportunities, the court, while agreeing with the submissions made on behalf of Decree Holder (DH), finds it a fit case for issuance of warrants of attachment against immovable property of JD namely Bikaner House, New Delhi," the judge said.

The court's order explicitly restrains the Nokha Nagar Palika from transferring or charging the property in any way, including sale or gift, until further notice. A representative of the council has been directed to appear before the court on November 29, the next date of hearing.