The Delhi High Court has held that a court cannot direct a third party to deposit money in court in the absence of an admitted or crystallised liability, reiterating that garnishee orders can ordinarily be passed only after a decree is obtained and the debt sought to be attached is established as due and payable. Justice Tejas Karia relied on Value Advisory Services v. ZTE Corporation (2009) where there was no decree in favour of the petitioner therein and the alleged debt was disputed by the garnishee. The High Court did not consider it appropriate to direct the garnishee to deposit the amount therein.
The Court was dealing with a challenge to a trial court order directing NBCC (India) Limited to deposit ₹1.48 crore in a fixed deposit receipt (FDR) in a commercial suit arising out of a payment dispute between a contractor and a subcontractor. The dispute stemmed from a project awarded by NBCC to GNC Infra LLP for construction works relating to a National Investigation Agency (NIA) facility in Hyderabad. LIVE Law
