Chennai: The Madras High Court has refused to direct the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Chennai to expedite the disposal of an application filed by Sivaganga MP Karti P Chidambaram seeking to unfreeze his personal salary account, which was frozen by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
Court's Ruling on Expedited Hearing
A division bench comprising Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice K Surender passed the order, stating that only in exceptional circumstances can courts stipulate terms and conditions for expedited disposal of cases. The bench emphasized that under normal circumstances, such directions would place an unnecessary burden on the concerned courts.
The court noted that the petitioner had filed the application before the tribunal only on April 8. The present writ petition was instituted on April 9, the very next day. The judges observed that allowing one party to approach the High Court for speedy disposal could prejudice the interests of other litigants who are also waiting for their cases to be resolved.
Principle of Equal Treatment
The judges added that no matter how high-profile the litigants may be, all must be treated equally when cases are dealt with by the courts. The principle of equality before the law must be upheld, and the court cannot prioritize one case over others without exceptional reasons.
The SFIO had frozen Karti Chidambaram's salary account as part of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities. The MP sought the unfreezing of the account to access his salary for personal expenses. However, the High Court's refusal to direct an expedited hearing means the matter will now proceed through the normal course at the NCLT.
