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The High Court of Delhi, through its judgment dated 15.06.2026 in NBCC India Limited v. GNC Infra LLP & Anr.1, allowed a petition challenging an order directing NBCC India Limited (“NBCC”) to deposit the suit amount before the Trial Court, holding that a garnishee order cannot be passed unless there exists a crystallised or admitted liability of the garnishee towards the judgment-debtor.
In the present matter, the principal question that arose for consideration was whether, in the absence of any crystallised liability, the Learned Trial Court was justified in directing NBCC to deposit the suit amount in the form of a Fixed Deposit Receipt (“FDR”) before the Learned Trial Court.
The Court observed that a garnishee is, in law, a debtor of the judgment-debtor. A decree holder may proceed against a garnishee only where the judgment-debtor has an enforceable right to recover its debt from the garnishee. Where the garnishee has not admitted the debt, the Court cannot compel the garnishee to deposit any amount on account of the judgment-debtor. In addition to this the Court also held that, since the suit was still pending and NBCC had neither admitted nor incurred any crystallised liability, the direction to deposit the suit amount was unsustainable. Accordingly, the impugned order was set aside.
Footnote
1. CM(M) 1181/2022
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