JUDGMENT - S.A. BOBDE, J.:---This chamber summons is taken out by the defendant, Harshadrai Odhavji Mody, for a direction that the execution application filed by the plaintiffs, Bank of India, which holds a decree against it, be in effect retained in this Court and not be transferred to the Debt Recovery Tribunal under the provisions of the Recovery of Debts Due to Bank and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 (hereinafter referred to "the RDB Act").

2. The facts in brief are that on 16th October, 1996 the Bank of India obtained a decree before the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division at England in the sum of Rs. 2,47,82,743.40 ps. The plaintiff Bank then put the decree into execution before this Court along with the certified copy on 6th May, 1998. The Debt Recovery Tribunal had not been constituted then. On 16th July, 1999 the constitution of the Debt Recovery Tribunal was notified. Thus execution application was being transferred to the Debt Recovery Tribunal when the defendant erroneously made an application for speaking to the minutes of an administrative order by which all matters filed by Bank and Financial Institutions were being transferred to the Debt Recovery Tribunal. This Court directed the defendant to take out a chamber summons for retaining in respect of this matter which was slated for transfer to the Debt Recovery Tribunal. Admittedly the papers have not yet been transferred to the Debt Recovery Tribunal and they are in this Court. Upon liberty granted as aforesaid, the defendant has taken out this chamber summons.

3. The only point for consideration before this Court is whether the decree obtained by the plaintiff, Bank of India, can be executed under section 44-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or in view of the Recovery of Debts Due to Bank and Financial Institutions Act, 1993, must be executed in accordance with the provisions of that Act. It is, therefore, necessary to set out certain provisions of the RDB Act which are as follows :-

"Section 2(g) : "debt" means any liability (inclusive of interest) which is claimed as due from any person by a bank or a financial institution or by a consortium of banks or financial institutions during the course of any business activity undertaken by the bank or the financial institution or the consortium under any law for the time being in force, in cash or otherwise, whether secured or unsecured, or assigned, or whether payable under a decree or order of any Civil Court or any arbitration Award or otherwise or under a mortgage and subsisting on, and legally recoverable on, the date of the application."

"Section 17 : Jurisdiction, powers and authority of Tribunals.---(1) A Tribunal shall exercise, on and from the appointed day, the jurisdiction, powers and authority to entertain and decide applications from the banks and financial institutions for recovery of debts due to such banks and financial institutions.

(2) An Appellate Tribunal shall exercise, on and from the appointed day, the jurisdiction, powers and authority to entertain appeals against any order made, or deemed to have been made, by a Tribunal under this Act."

"Section 34 : Act to have over-riding effect.---(1) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (2), the provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act.

(2) The provisions of this Act or the Rules made thereunder shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the Industrial Finance Corporation Act, 1948 (15 of 1948), The State Financial Corporation Act, 1951 (63 of 1951), The Unit Trust of India Act, 1963 (52 of 1963), the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India Act, 1984 (62 of 1984) and the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 (1 of 1986) and the Small Industrial Development Bank of India Act, 1989."

Thus, it is clear that if the present execution applicat

Click Here to Read the rest of this document