Section 31 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 provides for the transfer of pending suits or proceedings, including execution proceedings, to the Debt Recovery Tribunal upon its establishment, and the jurisdiction of civil courts is barred except for writ jurisdiction.

1. This civil revision application is directed against the order dated 12.3.99 passed by Subjudge Vth, Ranchi whereby he has passed an order for transfer of Misc. case No. 5/95 to the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Patna.

2. Petitioners case is that the opposite party-Bank instituted Money suit No. 126/85 against the petitioner for the recovery of the dues of the Bank. It is stated that when the petitioner was served with a notice on 19.2.98 from the court of the Registrar, Debt Recovery Tribunal, Patna that one execution case no. 6/96 formerly pending in the court of the Subjudge, Ranchi, has been transferred to the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Patna and the said case is registered there was Execution case no. 2/98, the petitioner immediately went to Patna and came to know that the said execution case relates to a decree passed against him in the aforementioned Money suit No. 126/85 from the court of Vth Subjudge, Ranchi. The petitioner then got the records inspected and came to know that an ex parte decree was passed against him on 6.7.95. The petitioner then filed an application under Order IX rule 13 CPC read with section 151 CPC praying for setting aside the ex parte decree passed against him. The said application was filed in the court of Subjudge Vth, Ranchi and registered as Misc. case no. 5/98.

3. Since the court of Vth Subjudge was lying vacant, the petitioner filed an application under section 24 of the C.P.C. in the court of the Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi for transfer of the said Misc. case no. 5/98 from the court of Vth Subjudge, Ranchi. to any other court for disposal. The learned Judicial Commissioner did not transfer the case to any other court, rather, he disposed of the application holding that the Misc. case for setting aside the decree is within the jurisdiction of the Debt Recovery Tribunal.

4. It appears that the petitioner, thereafter filed an application before the Vth Addl. Subjudge, Ranchi submitting that the petition for setting aside the decree is maintainable before the court which passed the decree and prayed for hearing of the application. The learned Subjudge Vth, Ranchi, after hearing the petitioner, rejected the prayer of the petitioner and ordered for transfer of the case to the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Patna.

5. Mr. A.K. Srivastva, learned counel for the petitioner assailed the impugned order as being wholly illegal and without jurisdiction. Learned counsel submitted that the application U/O 9 rule 13 CPC for setting aside the ex parte decree is maintainable only in the court which passed the same and the Debt Recovery Tribunal has no jurisdiction to proceed with the Misc. case.

6. On the other hand, Mr. Kameshwar Prasad, learned Sr. counsel appearing for the opposite party-Bank submitted that in view of section 31 of the Recovery of Debt Act all proceedings are liable to be transferred to the Debt Recovery Tribunal and the court below rightly held that it has no jurisdiction to hear the application.

7. Before appreciating the rival contentions of the parties it would be useful to look into the provisions of section 31 of the Recovery of Debt due to Bank and Financial Institution Act, 1993. Section 31 reads as under:

"31. Transfer of pending cases. (1) Every suit or other proceeding pending before any court immediately before the date of establishment of a Tribunal under this Act, being a suit or proceeding the cause of action whereon it is based is such that it would have been, if it had arisen after such establishment, within the jurisdiction of such Tribunal, shall stand transferred on that date to such Tribunal : Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to any appeal pending as aforesaid before any court.

(2) Where any suit or other proceeding stands transferred from any court to a Tribunal under sub-section (1):-

(a) the court shall, as soon as may be after such transfer, forward the records of such suit or other proceeding to the Tribunal; and

(b) the tribunal may, on receip