Sale Of Judgment Debtor's Whole Property Impermissible When Sale Of Part Property Can Satisfy Decree: Supreme Court

In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court held that during the execution proceedings if the attachment of the judgment debtor's property takes place, then the executing courts shouldn't order the sale of the whole property when the part property could have satisfied the decree. In the present case, an attachment of the whole property of the judgment debtor was done by the executing court, thereafter in an auction sale of the Judgment debtor's property for executing the decree, the decree-holder itself purchased the suit property. When the valuation of three attached properties is mentioned in the attachment Panchanama, it was the duty of the Court to have satisfied itself on this aspect and having failed to do so the Court has caused great injustice to the judgment debtor by auctioning his entire attached properties causing huge loss to the judgment debtor and undue benefit to the auction purchaser.”, the court observed. Also, the court emphasized the point that if under such an attachment a sale took place in an auction, whereby the whole property of the judgment debtor is purchased by the decree-holder, without examining the fact that the part sale of the judgment debtor's property could satisfy the decree, then such a sale would be termed as illegal.