A property involving late Harshad Mehta of the infamous share market scam has been put on sale. The property located in New Marine Lines' Dalamal Chambers measures 283 sq.ft and is being auctioned by inviting tenders. The auction, to be held by the office of Custodian, the Special Court (Trial of Offences Relating to Transactions in Securities – TORTS) Act of 1992, under the Union Ministry of Finance, will be held on October 31, at 3 pm at the Custodian's office in Mumbai. While no rate has been quoted by the Custodian, realtors from the area say the highest one should pay for this is Rs 35,000 per sq.ft, thus bringing the approximate price to Rs 99.05 lakh.
The commercial property attached belonged to late Sushilaben J Shah, partner of Romil Exports, who is a judgment debtor of Harshad Mehta and Orion Travels Pvt Ltd, both notified entity and party by the Custodian. A judgment debtor according to Advocate Vinod Sampat is a person against whom an order has been passed to repay the debt, and custodian in such cases appointed can deal in a way to get the money and repay the debt which includes attachment of property and then auctioning it.
The property located in South Mumbai can be inspected by prospective buyers between October 3 to 5 between 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm, and a representative of the custodian will be present at the premises on the dates of inspection.
Pramod Vays, a senior real estate agent from South Mumbai said, "Going by the market rate the price should be above Rs 35,000 per sq.ft. That is the ongoing rate. Also, the office space is small and hence such boutique offices are in demand. Had it been a bigger office space around 1,000 sq.ft and above I would have suggested a rate between Rs 30,000-32,000 per sq.ft. Also, the rates will depend on the interiors of the office space."
Meanwhile, the prospective buyer will have to submit his bids in a sealed envelope at the Mumbai office of the custodian, by 2 pm on October 31. The bid envelope should also include a demand draft/banker's cheque/pay order of a Public sector bank for five per cent of the bid amount.
After the offers are opened, a report shall be placed before the special court for considering the orders for sale in favour of the highest acceptable bidder. Acceptance of the bid will be subject to the approval of the special court. The court also reserves the right to accept or reject any of the offers or bid that may be received for the purchase of the property without assigning any reason whatsoever. A response from the office of the Custodian could not be elicited because of a public holiday.
