Section 15, 16 and 17 of Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act 2019

Section 15 Confirmation of attachment by Designated Court

(1) Upon receipt of an application under section 14, the Designated Court shall issue notice to-

(a) the deposit taker; and

(b) any person whose property is attached under section 14, to show cause, within a period of thirty days from the date of issue of notice, as to why the order of attachment should not be made absolute and the properties so attached be sold.

(2) The Designated Court shall also issue notice to all other persons represented to it as having or being likely to claim any interest or title in the property, to appear on the same date as persons referred to in sub-section (1) to raise objections, if they so desire, to the attachment of the property.

(3) The Designated Court shall, after adopting such procedure as may be prescribed, pass an order-

(a) making the provisional order of attachment absolute; or

(b) varying it by releasing a portion of the property from attachment; or

(c) cancelling the provisional order of attachment, and in case of an order under clause (a) or clause (b), direct the Competent Authority to sell the property so attached by public auction or, if necessary, by private sale and realise the sale proceeds.

(4) The Designated Court shall not, in varying or cancelling the provisional order of attachment, release any property from attachment, unless it is satisfied that-

(a) the deposit taker or the person referred to in sub-section (1) has interest in such property; and

(b) there shall remain an amount or property sufficient for repayment to the depositors of such deposit taker.

(5) The Designated Court shall pass such order or issue such direction as may be necessary for the equitable distribution among the depositors of the money attached or realised out of the sale.

(6) The Designated Court shall endeavour to complete the proceedings under this section within a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date of receipt of the application referred to in sub-section (1).

Section 16. Attachment of property of mala fide transferees

(1) Where the Designated Court is satisfied that there is a reasonable cause for believing that the deposit taker has transferred any property otherwise than in good faith and not for commensurate consideration, it may, by notice, require any transferee of such property, whether or not he received the property directly from the said deposit taker, to appear on a date to be specified in the notice and show cause why so much of the transferee's property as is equivalent to the proper value of the property transferred should not be attached.

(2) Where the said transferee does not appear and show cause on the specified date or where the Designated Court is satisfied that the transfer of the property to the said transferee was not a bona fide transfer and not for commensurate consideration, it shall order the attachment of so much of the said transferee's property as in its opinion is equivalent to the proper value of the property transferred.

Section 17. Payment in lieu of attachment

(1) Any deposit taker or a person referred to in sub-section (1) of section 15, or transferee referred to in section 16 whose property is about to be attached or has been provisionally attached under this Act, may, at any time before the confirmation of attachment, apply to the Designated Court for permission to deposit the fair value of the property in lieu of attachment.

(2) While allowing the deposit taker or person or transferee referred to in sub-section (1) to make the deposit under sub-section (1), the Designated Court may order such deposit taker or person or transferee to pay any sum towards costs as may be applicable.