The Commercial High Court of Colombo has issued an enjoining order restraining Sampath Bank PLC from auctioning Boswell Residencies, The Sunday Morning Business reliably learns. The order comes as the developer of Boswell Residencies, Ben Consortium Constructions (Pvt.) Ltd. mortgaged the residency to Sampath Bank without the consensus of residency occupants. The order was issued on 23 October by Commercial High Court Judge Prasantha De Silva by way of parate execution of the condominium property. Parate execution is a direct confiscation of a mortgage without authorisation from the court. Boswell Residencies is an apartment complex situated in Boswell Place, Colombo 6 and as at the moment, 51 occupants are living in the complex. The mortgage provider, Sampath Bank has approved it even after knowing that all 51 occupants have entered into sales agreements with the developer, according to Attorney-at-Law Farman Cassim PC. “Ben put out advertisements on the paper and collected money from the residents. After registering the sales agreements, they went to Sampath Bank for the mortgage. Sampath Bank, knowing that the sales agreements were registered, mortgaged the property; this is wrong,” Cassim told The Sunday Morning Business. The occupants have no outstanding payments to be settled to Ben Consortium. Therefore, they filed a petition in court against this mortgage which happened without their knowledge. Plaintiffs sought the Commercial Court’s intervention to prevent Sampath Bank PLC from proceeding with parate execution and to restrain Ben Consortium from further alienating Boswell Residencies. Following which, the enjoining order was issued and extended to 21 January, during when the case will be heard, according to Cassim.