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2008 DIGILAW 136 (CAL)

Unenco (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. United Bank of India

2008-01-30

BISWANATH SOMADDER

body2008
Judgment (1) THE Presiding Officer of Kolkata Debts Recovery Tribunal No. 2 by two separate orders, passed in Case No. TA/23/2001 and TA/12/2001 was inter alia pleased to direct the third party in both the applications, being the occupants of a mortgaged property, to appear before the learned Tribunal on the next date of hearing at a camp sitting at Siliguri. The issue that arises for consideration in the two applications is whether the Presiding officer of Kolkata Debts Recovery Tribunal No. 2 had jurisdiction vested the statute to hold a hearing at a camp sitting at Siliguri. In order to come to a finding on this issue it is necessary to look into the relevant statute, especially the relevant provisions relating to establishment of a Tribunal under the provisions of law. The relevant statute in the instant case is the recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993, (hereinafter referred to as the said Act). For the purpose of this case, one needs to look into Section 3 of the said Act, which is reproduced hereinbelow:- "establishment OF TRIBUNAL AND APPELLATE TRIBUNAL 3. Establishment of Tribunal.- (1) The Central Government shall, by notification, establish one or more Tribunals, to be known as the debts Recovery Tribunal, to exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on such Tribunal by or under this Act. (2) The Central Government shall also specify, in the notification referred to in sub-section (1), the areas within which the Tribunal may exercise jurisdiction for entertaining and deciding the applications filed before it." (2) THE above provision indicates that a notification is required to be issued by the Central Government for establishing a Tribunal under the said section. (3) IN the facts of the instant case it appears that vide Notification no. GSR 416 (E), dated 27th April, 1994, the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the said Act, established the Debts Recovery Tribunal at the place mentioned in column (2) of the table, to exercise jurisdiction within the areas specified in the corresponding entry in column (3) of the said Table contained in the notification. (4) BY the said notification, the Tribunal was established in the First floor, Local Centre, I-A Block, Sector-3, Salt Lake, Kolkata-91, with the areas of jurisdiction defined as West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar islands. (4) BY the said notification, the Tribunal was established in the First floor, Local Centre, I-A Block, Sector-3, Salt Lake, Kolkata-91, with the areas of jurisdiction defined as West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar islands. (5) IT appears that subsequently, another notification was issued by the Central Government, changing the place at which the Tribunal was initially established, to its present location, i.e. No. 15n, Nelie Sengupta sarani, 4th floor, Kolkata - 700 087. (6) IT thus appears to be clear that neither Section 3, nor the notification/notifications issued under that section confers any right upon the Tribunal to hold a camp sitting at Siliguri. (7) IN this context it may not be out of place to refer to Section 8 of the said Act which deals with establishment of an appellate Tribunal. The said section provides for the Central Government to issue by notification, establishment of one or more such Appellate Tribunals to be known as debts Recovery Appellate Tribunals, to exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on such Tribunal by or under the said Act. The statute also confers upon the Central Government rule making powers. The rule making powers are provided under Section 36 of the said Act. (8) BY virtue of he said rule making power, the Central Government has framed two rules, namely, (1) The Debts Recovery Tribunal (Procedure)Rules, 1993 and (2) Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1994. (9) ON a plain reading of the Debts Recovery Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1993 it appears that there is no mention in the said Rules as to where the sittings of the Tribunal can be held. (10) HOWEVER, in so far as the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1994 is concerned, there appears to be a specific provision contained in Rule 3 which is reproduced hereinbelow :- "3. Sittings of Appellate Tribunal.-An Appellate Tribunal shall hold its sittings either at headquarters or at such other place falling within its jurisdiction as it may consider convenient." (11) IT thus appears from a plain construction given to the two Rules read with the said Act, that the legislature did not provide an equivalence of rule 3 of Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1994, in respect of sittings of the Debts Recovery Tribunal, which is being governed under Section 3 of the said Act alone. (12) THEREFORE, if the said Act or the Rules or any notifications thereunder do not provide where the sittings of the Debts Recovery Tribunal are to be held, other than the one that is notified under Section 3 of the said Act, the presiding Officer of Kolkata Debts Recovery Tribunal No. 2 had no jurisdiction to direct the sitting of the Tribunal to be held at a camp sitting at Siluguri. (13) IN the circumstances, the direction of the Presiding Officer of the Debts Recovery Tribunal in the two orders impugned, in so far as a camp sitting of the Tribunal to be held in Siliguri is concerned, was wholly without jurisdiction and de hors his powers under the relevant provisions of law, as discussed above. (14) IN the circumstances, the learned Debts Recovery Tribunal is directed to conduct its sittings only at a place which is duly notified by the central Government under the provisions of Section 3 of the said Act and no anywhere else. (15) THE learned Tribunal is further directed to hear out and dispose of the two matters as expeditiously as possible without granting unnecessary adjournments to any of the parties preferably within a period of six months from the date of communication of this order. The revsional application stand allowed to the extent indicated above.