LI Network
Published on: January 23, 2024 at 12:00 IST
In a recent development, the Karnataka High Court, overturning a trial court’s order, has emphasized that once a surety requests the return of the original sale deed, the court is obligated to return it after securing the surety’s bond.
The bench, led by Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar, remarked that in a particular case where the original sale deed was submitted, the court had directed its safekeeping.
The Court’s stance was clear: once the surety expresses the desire for the return of the sale deed, the court must comply with this request.
The bench took note of the fact that the petitioner’s property held a value of ₹2 crores, whereas the surety bond amounted to Rs.2 lakhs.
It pointed out that the bond could be forfeited in case of the accused’s non-appearance, but the law also allows for flexibility in bond conditions.
Given that the accused was regularly appearing and there was a charge on the property, as reflected in the encumbrance certificate, the trial court, according to the bench, should have considered the petitioner’s application for the return of the original sale deed.
The case involved the petitioner acting as a surety for an accused. To establish his solvency, the petitioner submitted the original sale deed of his property during the surety affidavit filing.
Subsequently, the court ordered the safekeeping of the sale deed. After the court accepted the petitioner’s suretyship, an entry in the encumbrance certificate was recorded.
Despite the petitioner’s application for the return of the sale deed, the trial court rejected the request, leading to the filing of a petition under Section 482 of CrPC.
The bench underscored that the court, while assessing a surety’s solvency, may call for the document of title of the surety’s property.
If a xerox copy is initially provided, the court may request the original for verification and subsequently return it. The Karnataka High Court directed the trial court to promptly return the original sale deed to the petitioner/surety.
Case Title: Sadatulla Syed v. National Investigation Agency