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Banking & Debt Recovery LawSupreme Court of India

S.D. Bhoskar and Co. & Anr. v. Bank of Baroda & Anr.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 11916-11917 of 2016)Decided 7 Dec 2016
Civil Appeal Nos. 11916-11917 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This order does not decide the main case. A High Court had directed the appellants to make a fresh pre-deposit before the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) under the SARFAESI Act, 2002. They argued this was unjust because they had already deposited Rs. 12.50 lakhs in the same subject matter in earlier proceedings under the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final decision on the main case. Because the appeals were already pending before the DRAT, the Court chose not to address the question of law and expressly left it open. It disposed of the appeals by directing the DRAT, Mumbai to decide the two pending appeals within six months. The existing interim stay on any further SARFAESI deposit was continued until then, and coercive recovery steps were barred in the meantime.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether a pre-deposit made in one recovery proceeding satisfies a separate pre-deposit requirement under the SARFAESI Act.

S.D. Bhoskar and Co. & Anr. v. Bank of Baroda & Anr. – Legal Case Shots | LegalAware