Central Bank Of India vs Prabha Jain

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2025 Supreme(SC) 163

J. B. PARDIWALA, R. MAHADEVAN
Central Bank Of India – Appellant
Versus
Prabha Jain – Respondent

Advocates appeared:
For The Appellant(s) Mr. O. P. Gaggar, AOR Mr. Sachindra Karn, Advocate Appeared: .
For The Respondent(s) Mr. Umesh Babu Chaurasia, Adv. Ms. Prity Kumari, Adv. Ms. Manjula Chaurasia, Adv. Mr. Maneesh Pathak, Adv. Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR Ms. Pragati Neekhra, AOR Mr. Aditya Bhanu Neekhra, Adv. Mr. Atul Dong, Adv. Mr. Aniket Patel, Adv.

Judgement Key Points

Key Holdings

The civil court retains jurisdiction to adjudicate the validity of sale deeds and mortgage deeds executed prior to measures under Section 13(4) of the SARFAESI Act, as the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) lacks power to determine such matters of title or document validity. (!) (!) (!)
Section 34 of the SARFAESI Act bars civil court jurisdiction only for matters the DRT or Appellate Tribunal is empowered to determine, limited to examining whether measures under Section 13(4) comply with the Act and rules. (!) (!) (!) (!)
DRT jurisdiction under Section 17 is confined to challenges against measures taken by secured creditors under Section 13(4); it cannot declare prior sale or mortgage deeds null or decide independent title disputes adverse to the borrower. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
Under unamended Section 17(3) of the SARFAESI Act (applicable here), DRT can only "restore" possession to the borrower or those claiming through them who were in prior possession; it cannot "hand over" possession to third parties with independent adverse claims not in possession at takeover. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
A plaint cannot be rejected in part under Order VII Rule 11 CPC; if any relief survives (e.g., declaration of prior document invalidity), the entire plaint proceeds, and courts must avoid adverse observations on other reliefs at this stage. [summary] (!) (!)
Plaintiff paid proper court fees for declarations of nullity (not requiring cancellation as non-party) and possession (valued per land revenue under Court Fees Act S.7(v)(a)). (!)

Facts

Plaintiff claimed 1/3rd share in inherited land; co-heir allegedly sold plot illegally (03.07.2008) to defendant who mortgaged to bank; bank took possession under SARFAESI S.13(4). Plaintiff sued for declarations of sale/mortgage nullity, possession, damages/mesne profits. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
Trial court rejected plaint under O.VII R.11 (no jurisdiction per S.34 SARFAESI, insufficient fees); High Court reversed, restoring suit. (!) (!) (!)

Ratio

SARFAESI Act enables speedy debt recovery but does not adjudicate title/validity of antecedent documents; such disputes fall under civil court jurisdiction per CPC S.9. (!) (!) (!)
Illustrations clarify DRT limits: cannot resolve conflicting wills, adoption validity, or partition affecting title prior to security interest. (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) (!)
Wide "any person" in S.17(1) does not expand DRT powers beyond S.17(3) reliefs tied to S.13(4) measures. (!) (!) (!)
Bar under S.34 requires strict interpretation; civil jurisdiction retained unless expressly/impliedly ousted for DRT-empowered matters. (!) (!)

Result

Appeals dismissed; High Court order upheld; civil suit to proceed expeditiously. (!)

ORDER :

Since the issues raised in all the captioned appeals are the same, those were taken up for hearing analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.

2. The Civil Appeal No.1876 of 2016 is treated as the lead matter. The disposal of this appeal shall govern the disposal of all connected appeals.

3. This appeal arises from the judgment and order dated 30.10.2012 passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur in First Appeal No.408 of 2012 by which the High Court allowed the appeal filed by the respondents herein-original plaintiffs and thereby, set aside the order passed by the 5th Additional District Judge, Bhopal in Civil Suit No.25A/2011 rejecting the plaint under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short, “the CPC”).

4. The facts giving rise to this appeal may be summarised as under:-

Respondent no.1 namely, Smt. Prabha Jain instituted Civil Suit No.25A/11 praying for the following reliefs:-

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Judicial Analysis

K. Jayamma VS Syndicate Bank - 2024 0 Supreme(AP) 1288: Cited as precedent ("In Jagdish Singh’s case (supra 2) facts are that...") without negative treatment.

Bank of Baroda, Through Its Authorized Officer, Raman Kumar VS Suresh Yadav S/o Late P. L. Yadav - 2024 0 Supreme(Chh) 631: Cited multiple times as authority ("Union of India and Others, 2004 (4) SCC 31.8... (2004) 4 SCC 311").

Anoob J.Singh vs Authorized Officer, Indian Bank - 2025 0 Supreme(Mad) 3728: Cited as precedent ("Union of India and Others reported in 2004 (4) SCC 311").

Vinod Infra Developers Ltd. VS Mahaveer Lunia - 2025 6 Supreme 457: Relied upon for title/ownership principles ("Central Bank of India v.... 2025 SCC OnLine SC 352, where it was reiterated"; also "Central Bank of India (supra), wherein, this Court while examining").

Aniket Mahendra Mandhare vs Sukhdev Dattatray Waje - 2025 0 Supreme(Bom) 1039: Directly applied ("The Judgment of... Central Bank of India and Another (supra) squarely applies to the facts").

M/s.S.K.V.Industries, Rep. by its Managing Partner E.Vivekananth vs Sivamalar - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 54445: Cited as Supreme Court authority ("Bank of India vs Prabha Jain and others reported in"; "The Honourable Supreme Court in Central").

SANKARANARAYANAN vs MAJOR MATHEW KRANAMBURATH ABRAHAM - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 44887: Relied upon ("The learned counsel has also relied upon... Central Bank of India v.... Prabha Jain [2025 (4) SCC 38]"; "In the decision in Prabha Jain (supra) relied upon").

State Bank Of India vs Raju Prakash Calla Son Of Shri P.C - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Raj) 13958: Placed reliance upon ("Learned counsel... has placed reliance upon... (1) Central Bank of India &... Prabha Jain & Ors. Reported in 2025 0 Supreme (SC) 163").

PRIYADHARSINI ATHREYA vs THE AUTHORIZED OFFICER - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 65151: Cited to define jurisdiction ("In the decision of Central Bank of India (supra), as regards the limitation of jurisdiction").

Dr.S.Jaikish, Dr.C.Geethasankari vs Deval Y.Patel - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 59118: Cited in support ("iii) Central Bank of India and another Vs. Prabha Jain and others reported in (2025) 4 SCC 38").

Priyal Saraf vs Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction company Ltd. - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 56345: Relied upon ("Relying upon a judgment... in Central Bank of India vs. Prabha Jain and others (2025 (4) SCC 38)").

Atam Parkash vs Allahabad Bank - 2025 Supreme(Online)(P&H) 6740: Cited as upholding High Court decision ("Prabha Jain (supra). In the case of Smt. Prabha Jain (supra), the Hon’ble Supreme Court... upheld").

Cholamandalam Investment And Finance Company Ltd. vs Rajender Kaur - 2025 Supreme(Online)(P&H) 6741: Cited alongside other cases ("Central Bank of India and others Vs. Smt. Prabha Jain and others, (2025)4 SCC 38").

Atam Parkash vs Allahabad Bank - 2025 0 Supreme(P&H) 612: Cited as upholding and reiterating ("Prabha Jain (supra)... the Hon’ble Supreme Court... has reiterated").

Cholamandalam Investment And Finance Company Ltd. vs Rajender Kaur - 2025 0 Supreme(P&H) 611: Cited alongside other cases ("Central Bank of India and others Vs. Smt. Prabha Jain and others, (2025)4 SCC 38").

Parasmal, S/o. Jassu Devi And Ishwarchand vs Prakash Chandra, S/o. Late Sh. Bhanwar Lal Maroti - 2025 0 Supreme(Raj) 2400: Cited as Hon’ble Supreme Court authority ("Central Bank of India & Anr. v. Smt. Prabha Jain & Ors.").

UCO Bank vs Manjana Verma Sahni - 2025 Supreme(Online)(HP) 8175: Relied upon in similar circumstances ("Central Bank of India and another Versus Prabha Jain and others (supra)").

State Bank Of India, By Its Chief Manager And Authorised Officer Sar Branch vs Sarathi Traders, By Its Proprietor - 2025 0 Supreme(Kar) 2555: Reliance placed upon ("Central Bank of India Vs. Prabha Jain, (2025) 4 SCC 38").

Purvam Satyanarayana, S/o. Late Pentaiah vs Nandyala Rama Krishna Reddy, S/o. Late Yella Reddy - 2026 0 Supreme(Telangana) 196: Cited as Supreme Court precedent ("The Supreme Court in Central Bank of India v. Prabha Jain").

Rajeev Bhandari S/o Shri Jawari Chand Bhandari vs Jodhpur Development Authority, through its Commissioner, Jodhpur - 2026 0 Supreme(Raj) 67: Cited ("Prabha Jain & Ors.").

Central Bank of India, through Chembur Branch vs Vikas Kashinath Gaikwad - 2026 0 Supreme(Bom) 468: Cited twice ("Central Bank of India and Anr. Vs. Prabha Jain and Ors.").

Tourism Finance Corporation of India Limited vs Aishwarya Chetan Khedkar @ Aishwarya - 2026 0 Supreme(Bom) 429: Cited ("Prabha Jain and Ors.").

JOSHY THOMAS vs THE SOUTH INDIAN BANK - 2026 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 12136: Forms basis of contention and relied upon in review ("placing reliance on the subsequent judgment... in Central").

Aniket Mahendra Mandhare vs Sukhdev Dattatray Waje - 2025 0 Supreme(Bom) 1039: Explicitly distinguished ("He sought to distinguish the Judgment of Central Bank of India and Another (supra)... on this ground").

Shree Garodi Steels VS Yojaka India Private Ltd. - 2024 0 Supreme(Kar) 345: Cited without treatment indicators ("The Madras High Court... (2016) SCC online Mad 29996 in case of Central Bank of India").

MMTC Limited vs Anglo-American Metallurgical Pty Limited - 2025 0 Supreme(Del) 716: Partial/incomplete citation ("Prabha Jain and Others ,") with no treatment language.

Ashwini Trading Co. vs Housing Bank Limited - 2025 0 Supreme(Bom) 1122: Cited in list ("Bank of India Vs.... Union of India , (iv) Bank of India Vs.").

M/s.Royal Sundaram General Insurance Company Limited vs Tmt.Bhuvaneshwari, W/o.Late. Balaji - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 69374: Cited but in unrelated context (insurance/bounced cheque; "Prabha" appears but linked to accident register, not legal reliance).

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited vs A. Anand Prasad - 2025 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 70663: Standalone citation ("Shipping Corporation of India Ltd., vs. Machado Brothers & others reported in") with no treatment.

AUTHORISED OFFICER, STATE BANK OF INDIA VS ALLWYN ALLOYS PVT. LTD. - 2018 5 Supreme 479: Describes jurisdiction rule without treatment indicators.

STATE BANK OF PATIALA VS MUKESH JAIN - 2016 7 Supreme 591: States "Important Point" on injunctions without treatment.

Mardia Chemicals LTD. Etc. VS Union Of IndiaEtc. - 2004 3 Supreme 243: States "Important point" on constitutional validity without treatment.

Harshad Govardhan Sondagar VS International Assets Reconstruction - 2014 7 Supreme 601: Lists "MAIN POINTS" on SARFAESI/lease without treatment.

Bank Of Rajasthan Ltd. VS VCK Shares & Stock Broking Services Ltd. - 2022 0 Supreme(SC) 1140: Describes recovery/jurisdiction without treatment.

ROBUST HOTELS PVT. LTD. VS EIH LIMITED - 2016 8 Supreme 545: Describes plenary jurisdiction without treatment.

M. P. WAKF BOARD VS SUBHAN SHAH (DEAD) BY LRS. - 2006 0 Supreme(SC) 1010: Describes procedural adherence without treatment.

Jagdish Singh VS Heeralal - 2013 7 Supreme 568: States no civil jurisdiction in securitization without treatment.

Dwarka Prasad Agarwal (D) By Lrs. VS Ramesh Chandra Agarwala - 2003 4 Supreme 497: Describes civil dispute jurisdiction without treatment.

Madhav Prasad Aggarwal VS Axis Bank Ltd. - 2019 0 Supreme(SC) 870: States plaint rejection rule without treatment.

Electrosteel Castings Limited VS UV Asset Reconstruction Company Limited - 2021 8 Supreme 380: States suit barring/circumvention rule without treatment.

Vinod Infra Developers Ltd. VS Mahaveer Lunia - 2025 6 Supreme 457: Treatment leans toward "followed" (reiterated, reliance placed), but lists as "2025 SCC OnLine SC 352" which may distinguish from older cases; categorized as followed due to positive reliance language.

2025 Supreme(SC) 163

J. B. PARDIWALA, R. MAHADEVANCentral Bank Of India – AppellantVersusPrabha Jain – Respondent

Key Holdings

Facts

Ratio

Result

Cases Referred (12)

Judicial Analysis

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J. B. PARDIWALA, R. MAHADEVAN
Central Bank Of India – Appellant
Versus
Prabha Jain – Respondent