Sonal Hemant Joshi and Others vs Sate of Maharashtra and Others

Heard learned Counsel for the appearing parties.

This Appeal has been filed against the impugned judgment dated 05.09.2005 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Criminal Writ Petition No. 903 of 2000 by which the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 1999 (for short ''the Act'') was held unconstitutional.

In view of the judgment of this Court in K.K. Baskaran v. State (2011) 3 SCC 793 : (2011) 2 SCC (Civ) 90)

, we are of the opinion that the impugned judgment of the High Court is not correct and it is hereby set aside. Hence, we uphold the Act as constitutionally valid.

We are not going into other questions because in this Appeal we are only concerned with the question of constitutional validity of the Act.

Application for permission to intervene filed by Bochasanwasi Shri Aksharpurushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha is allowed.

It appears that an interim order was passed by this Court on 11.05.2010 permitting the Competent Authority to dispose of certain properties. We modify that order by directing that the said Order will not apply to the properties which the applicant in the application for permission to intervene, that is, Bochasanwasi Shri Aksharpurushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, claims to be its own. We are informed that the aforesaid applicant has filed an application u/s 7 of the Act before the Special Court and we direct that the said application may be disposed of on its own merits in accordance with law.

With these observations, the Appeal is allowed.

Since we have allowed the Appeal, no orders need be passed on any pending application(s).