ANNAI APPLIANCE MANUFACTURING P. LTD Vs. CANARA BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) There is no merit in this petition, wherein an order of pre-deposit issued by the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal at Chennai on March 24, 2021 has been challenged.

(2.) According to the petitioners, the subject-matter of the challenge before the appellate tribunal was the sale of a particular property and it was admitted by the secured creditor that the property was valued at about Rs.5.00 crore. The petitioners complain of the direction issued by the tribunal to deposit a sum of Rs.2.30 crore in two installments of Rs.1.15 crore each.

(3.) Sec. 18(1) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 provides for the right of appeal to any person aggrieved by an order made by the Debts Recovery Tribunal under Sec. 17 of the Act. The first proviso to such provision permits different fees to be prescribed for different classes of persons. The second proviso mandates that unless the borrower, when the borrower is the appellant, deposits with the appellate tribunal fifty per cent of the amount of debt due from him, as claimed by the secured creditors or determined by the Debts Recovery Tribunal, whichever is less the appeal shall not be entertained. A further proviso governs the second proviso and such further proviso permits the appellate tribunal to reduce the amount of pre-deposit to not less than 25 per cent of the debt referred to in the second proviso.