Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Railway Ministry to deposit Rs 3.9 crore in court within a month or else it will confiscate the Western Railway building at Churchgate railway station. In its claim against the Railway Ministry, the tribunal had in 2015 ruled in favor of KP Traders. Traders approached the High Court. The petition was being heard before a single bench headed by Justice Abhay Ahuja.
The petition has been pending since 2016. Therefore, the court should order the attachment of the building under the Code of Civil Procedure, KP Traders said. Traders did. However, the Western Railway sought a few days. The court denied their request.
The court said it had already rejected the railway ministry's appeal and also rejected its application to resume hearing on the appeal but seizing the building would not achieve anything.
In 1998, the Ministry of Railways approached K. P. Traders for logistical work. In 2003, after a dispute between the two parties, K.P. Tedders moved to arbitration. In 2015, the tribunal ruled in favor of K. P. Traders. The tribunal directed the Railway Ministry to pay 18 percent interest on the amount of Rs 2,14,65,297. As a result, a total of Rs 3,95,94,720 will be given to the Traders. However, due to non-payment of dues, K.P. The traders filed a petition in the High Court.
The court directed the Railway Ministry to deposit Rs 3,95,94,720 in a month. "If the amount is not deposited within a month, we will confiscate the Western Railway building at Churchgate," the judge said.