Chaini Parwani –
Published On: December 16, 2021 at 17:00 IST
The Supreme Court on Thursday passed an Order requesting the High Courts to entertain applications under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI) under the Writ Jurisdiction as an interim measure.
A Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice L Nageswara Rao stated “To resolve the problem for the time being, pending further Orders, we request the High Courts to entertain the applications which are to be filed before DRT/DRAT.”
The Court pronounced the Judgment in connection to the difficulties created due to the assignment of the Jurisdiction of Debts Recovery Tribunals (DRT) in one State to DRT’s of another State.
The Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh appealed before the Supreme Court arguing that the transfer of Jurisdiction of DRT Jabalpur (MP) to DRT Lucknow (UP) was causing immense difficulty to Litigants and Advocates.
Further Senior Advocate Nidhesh Gutpa, representing the MP Bar Council, highlighted that in a Judgment passed by the Kerala High Court which held that Jurisdiction of DRT cannot be transferred to another State, but if no other option available, the Jurisdiction should be given to other Tribunals within the state
Furthermore, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal noted that the Hearings happening via video-conferencing might not cause difficulty.
In response, Gupta submitted that the video-conference hearings were not effective as only dates are given for the Cases from the other state, with no substantive Hearing.
Furthermore, CJI Ramana stated “For the time being, we will ask the committee to expedite the appointments. For the time being, let High Courts entertain these applications.”
Also Read: Maintainability of Injunction suits in Sarfaesi Act