BHUTORIA DEALERS PVT LTD Vs. ALLAHABAD BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole point involved in this revisional application is whether an appeal filed by a person aggrieved by an order passed by the Debt Recovery Tribunal who is neither a borrower nor a guarantor nor a person from whom that the amount of debt is due, is liable to pay the fees prescribed under Rule 8(2) of the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal (Procedural) Rules, 1994.

(2.) For the purpose of addressing the issues as indicated above, it is not necessary to record the facts of the proceeding before the Debt Recovery Tribunal extensively. It would be suffice for the present purpose to say that the Bank agreed to sale the mortgage property to the petitioner at a sum of Rs. 47 lakhs. The petitioner moved an application before the Tribunal seeking his addition as well as the execution of the conveyance in its favour. On the date of the hearing of the said application, the petitioner tendered an amount equivalent to 10% of the offer and undertook to pay the balance sum at the time of execution of the deed of conveyance. Subsequently another application was filed for confirmation of the sale and the sale to be affected by the receiver to be appointed by the Tribunal. From time to time, applications are being taken out with the prime intent to get the sale confirmed at the said consideration price and execution of the deed in favour of the petitioner. Several orders came to be passed wherefrom it would appear that some of the applications are pending.

(3.) Amidst pendency of those applications, a compromise was effected which was accepted by the Tribunal. After coming to know that the compromise is effected between the original parties, the petitioner filed an application and upon dismissal thereof filed an appeal before the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal. In the said appeal, an application for waiver of the pre-deposit has been allowed and the petitioner seeks to waive the requisite fees required to be paid on an appeal filed under Section 20 of the Debt Recovery Tribunal Act. The order of rejection of the said application is challenged in the present revision application.