Debts Recovery Tribunal

Keeping in line with the international trends on helping financial institutions recover their bad debts quickly and effeciently, the Government of India has constituted twenty nine Debts Recovery Tribunals and five Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunals across the country.

The Debts Recovery Tribunals are located across the country. Some cities have more than one Debts Recovery Tribunal located therein. New Delhi and Mumbai have three Debts Recovery Tribunals. Chennai and Kolkata have two Debts Recovery Tribunals each. One Debts Recovery Tribunal each has been constituted at Ahmdabad, Allahabad, Arungabad, Bangalore, Chandigrah, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Hydrabad, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Ranchi and Vishakapatnam. Depending upon the number of cases a Debts Recovery Tribunal is constituted.

There are a number of States that do not have a Debts Recovery Tribunal. The Banks & Financial Institutions and other parties in these States have to go to Debts Recovery Tribunal located in other states having jurisdiction over there area. Thus the territorial jurisdiction of some Debts Recovery Tribunal is very vast. For example, the Debts Recovery Tribunal located in Guwahati has jurisdiction over all the seven North Eastern States. Similarly, the territorial jurisdiction of the Debts Recovery Tribunal located at Chandhigarh too has a very wide jurisdiction over the States of Punjab, Harayana, Chandhigarh.

The setting up of a Debts Recovery Tribunal is dependant upon the volume of cases. Higher the number of cases within a territorial area, more Debts Recovery Tribunal would be set up.

Each Debts Recovery Tribunal is presided over by a Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer is generally a judge of the rank of Dist. & Sessions Judge. A Presiding Officer of a Debts Recovery Tribunal is assisted by a number of officers of other ranks, but none of them need necessarily have a judicial back ground. Therefore, the Presiding Officer of a Debts Recovery Tribunal is the sole judicial authority to hear and pass any judicial order.

Each Debts Recovery Tribunal has two Recovery Officers. The work amongst the Recovery Officers is allocated by the Presiding Officer. Though a Recovery Officer need not be a judicial Officer, but the orders passed by a Recovery Officer are judicial in nature, and are appealable before the Presiding Officer of the Tribunal.

The Debts Recovery Tribunal are governed by provisions of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993, also popularly called as the RDB Act. Rules have been framed and notified under the Recovery of Debtss Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993.

After the enactment of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests Act (SRFAESI Act or SRFAESIA for short) borrowers could become first applicants before the Debts Recovery Tribunals. Earlier only lenders could be applicants.

The Debts Recovery Tribunals are fully empowered to pass comprehensive orders like in Civil Courts. The Tribunals can hear cross suits, counter claims and allow set offs. However, they cannot hear claims of damages or deficiency of services or breach of contract or criminal negligence on the part of the lenders.

The Debts Recovery Tribunals can appoint Receivers, Commissioners, pass ex-parte ordes, ad-interim orders, interim orders apart from powers to Review its own decision and hear appeals against orders passed by the Recovery Officers of the Tribunals.

The recording of evidence by Debts Recovery Tribunals is some what unique. All evidences are taken by way of an affidavit. Cross examination is allowed only on reqeust by the defense, and that too if the Tribunal feels that such a cross examination is in the interest of justice. Friviolous cross examination may be denied. There are a number of other unique features in the proceedings before the Debts Recovery Tribunals all aimed at expediting the proceedings.

The details of the Tribunal constituted as of now are as under:

DRAT Allahabad:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 5(E) dated 3-1-2001 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Over Debt Recovery Tribunals at Allahabad, Lucknow and Jabalpur.

DRAT Chennai:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 134(E) 17-2-2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Over Debt Recovery Tribunals at Bangalore, Chennai-1, Chennai-2, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam and Ernakulam.

DRAT Delhi:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 498(E) 26-5-2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Over Debt Recovery Tribunals at Chandhigarh, Delhi-1, Delhi-2, Delhi-3, and Jaipur.

DRAT Kolkata:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 257(E) 24-3-2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Over Debt Recovery Tribunals at Cuttak, Guwahati, Patna, Kolkata and Ranchi.

DRAT Mumbai:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 654(E) 17-7-1994 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Mumbai-1, Mumbai-2, Mumbai-3, Nagpur and Pune.

DRT Ahmedabad:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 88 (E) dated 21.12.1994 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers State of Gujarat and Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu.

DRT Allahabad:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 274 (E) dated 31.03.2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Allahabad, Auraiya, Azamgarh, Ballia, Banda, Basti, Budan, Chandauli, Chitrakut, Deoria, Etah, Etawah, Farrukahabad, Fatehpur, Firozabad, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Kanauj, Kanpur (Rural), Kanpur (Urban), Kaushambi, Kushinagar, Lalitpur, Haharajganj, Mahoba, Mainpuri, Mau, Mirzapur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Sant Ravi Das Nagar, Sidharthnagar, Sonbhadra, Varnasi districts of Uttar Pradesh & any other area in State of Uttar Pradesh not covered within the jurisdiction of DRTs at Lucknow & Allahabad.

DRT Aurangabad:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 909 (E) dated 7.12.2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Aurangabad, Nanded, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Dharashiv, Latur, Ahmadnagar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar and Nashik districts of Maharashtra state.

DRT Bangalore:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 832 (E) dated 30.11.1994 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers State of Karnataka .

DRT Chandhigarh:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 258 (E) dated 24.3.2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

DRT-1 Chennai:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 508 (E) dated 04.11.96 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Chennai South (areas falling on south of Poonamallee High Road across Chennai), Cuddalore, Kanchipuram, Karur, Namakkal, Perambalur, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Viluppuram, Ariyalur districts of Tamil Nadu & Union Territory of Pondicherry .

DRT-2 Chennai:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 258 (E) dated 29.03.2001 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Chennai North (areas falling on north of Poonamallee High Road Across Chennai), Kanniyakumari, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Virudunagar districts of Tamil Nadu and any other areas of Tamil Nadu not covered within the jurisdiction of DRT Coimbatore and Chennai DRT No.1.

DRT Coimbatore:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 221 (E) dated 22.3.2002 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Dharmapuri, Erode, Nilgiris, Salem, Tiruchchirappalli, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Madurai, Pudukkottai & Teni districts of Tamil Nadu .

DRT Cuttak:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 946 (E) dated 29.12.2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers State of Orissa.

DRT Ernakulam:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 397 (E) dated 4.10.1999 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers State of Kerala & Lakshadweep.

DRT Guwahati:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 7 (E) dated 7.1.1997 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Assam and other North Eastern States and Sikkim.

DRT Hyderabad:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 647 (E) dated 21.9.1999 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Adilabad, Anantapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Hyderabad, Kurnool, Khammam, Karim Nagar, Mehbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Rangareddi, & Warangal districts of Andhra Pradesh and remaining areas of Andhra Pradesh not covered in the jurisdiction of DRT Vishakhapatnam.

DRT Jabalpur:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 181 (E) dated 7.4.1998 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers States of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

DRT Jaipur:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 655 (E) dated 30.8.1994 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers State of Rajasthan.

DRT-1 Kolkata:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 416 (E) dated 27.4.1999 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Kolkata city covering the areas of the following police station:-Hare Street, Park Street, Shakespeare Sarani, Bowbazar, Muchipara, Taltolla, Hastings, North Port.

DRT-2 Kolkata:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 270 (E) dated 20.4.2001 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Al districts of West Bengal (except Kolkata City) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands

DRT-3 Kolkata:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 84 (E) dated 6.2.2002 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Kolkata City covering the areas of the following police station:- Shyampukur, Jorabagan, Burtolla, Burrabazar, Posta, Jorasanko, Amherst Street and areas of any other police station which may be created in future in Kolkata City.

DRT Lucknow:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 71 (E) dated 31.1.2002 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Ambedkar Nagar, Aligarh, Agra, Barabanki, Balrampur, Bahraich, Bareilly, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Baghpat, Faizabad, Ghaziabad, Gonda, Gautam Budh Nagar, Hathras, Hardoi, Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Lucknow, Lakhimpur, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzafffarnagar, Mathura, Pratapgarh, Pilibhit, Rampur, Rae Bareilly, Sharanpur, Shahajahanpur, Sitapur, Shravasti, Sultanpur, Unnao districts of Uttar Pradesh & State of Uttaranchal.

DRT-1 Mumbai:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 524 (E) dated 16.7.1999 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers City Area of A Ward as defined by Mumbai Municipal Coropration bounded as below excluding areas of Nariman Point :- East : Dock area, Ballard Estate, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, P.Demello Road West :Marine Drive North : Anandilal Poddar Marg, Lokmanya Tilak Marg South : Colaba.

DRT-2 Mumbai:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 945(E) dated 29.12.2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Nariman Point in A ward bounded as south : Arabian Sea & Nathalal Parekh Marg West : Dorabjee Tata Road North : Madam Cama Road East : Maharshi Karve Road and B ward to G Ward ie; excluding the areas of jurisdiction of Mumbai DRT No.1 and excluding Suburban & extended suburban areas of Greater Bombay .

DRT-3 Mumbai:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 945(E) dated 29.12.2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Areas of H Ward to T Ward ie; Suburban & extended Suburban areas of Greater Bombay and districts of Thane , Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra state and the state of Goa and any other areas of Mumbai not covered by Mumbai DRT No.1 & Mumbai DRT No.2.

DRT Nagpur:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR(E) 945 dated 29-12-2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondiya, Amravati, Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Gadchiroli, Akola, Buldhana, Washim & Wardha districts of Marashtra State.

DRT-1 New Delhi:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 653 (E) dated 5.7.1994 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers South Delhi District Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar, Mehrauli, Defence Colony, Lodhi Colony, Kotla Mubarakpur, Lajpat Nagar, Srinivas Puri, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Greater Kailash, Chitranjan Park, Ambedkar Nagar, Kalkaji, Badarpur, Okhla, any other police station which may be existing or created in future in this area.

DRT-2 New Delhi:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 947 (E) dated 29.12.2000 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers New Delhi DistrictParliament Street, Mandir Marg, Connaught Place , Tilak Marg, Chanakya Puri, Tughlak Road, any other police station which may be existing or created in future in this area .

DRT-3 New Delhi:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 48 (E) dated 18.1.2002 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Central Delhi District :Darya Gunj, Chandni Mahal, Jama Masjid, Kamala Market, Hauz Quazi, I.P.Estate, Pahar Gunj, D.B.G.Road, Nabi Karim, Karol Bagh, Prasad Nagar, Rajinder Nagar, andy other police station which may be existing or created in future in this area North East Delhi District : Seelam Pur, Gokal Puri, Bhajan Pura, Shahdara, Welcome Colony, Manasaravor Park, Seema Puri, Nand Nagri, any other police station which may be existing or created in future in this area. East Delhi District Kalayan Puri, Trilok Puri, Vivk Vihar, Anand Vihar, Preet Vihar , Shakar Pur, Gandhi Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Geeta Colony, any other police station which may be existing or created in future in this area. North Delhi District : Civil Lines, Timarpur, Roop Nagar, Maurice Nagar Colony, Subzi Mandi, Pratap Nagar, Sarai Rohilla, Bara Hindu Rao, Sadar Bazar, Kashmere Gate, Kotwali, Lahori Gate, Town Hall (Chandni Chowk), any other police station which may be existing or created in future in this areaWest Delhi District Patel Nagar, Anand Parbat , Moti Nagar , Tilak Nagar, Janak Puri, Vikas Puri, Punjabi Bagh, Paschim Vihar, Nangloi, Rajouri Garden, Hari Nagar, Kirti Nagar, any other police station which may be existing or created in future in this areaNorth West Delhi District Sultan Puri, Mangol Puri, Kanjahanwala, Ashok Vihar, Saraswati Vihar, Keshav Puram, Shalimar Bagh, Jahangir Puri, Rohini, Narela, Samaipur Badli, Ali Pur, Mukerjee Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Model Town, any other police station which may be existing or created in future in this area.

DRT Patna:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 325(E) dated 24-1-1997 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers State of Bihar.

DRT Pune:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 884 (E) dated 17-12-2001 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur & Solapur districts of Marashtra State and any other area/district of Marashtra State not included in Mumbai DRT No. 1, Mumbai DRT No. 2 and Mumbai DRT No. 3 and DRTs at Aurangabad and DRT at Nagpur .

DRT Visakhapatanam:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 112(E) dated 26-2-2002 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers East Godavari, West Godavari, Guntur, Kirshna, Nellore, Praksam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram & Vishakapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh.

DRT Ranchi:-The Tribunal has been constituted vide notification GSR No: 113 (E) dated 26-2-2002 . The territorial jusrisdiction of the Hon`ble Tribunal covers State of Jharkhand.

If you desire to know further details on the Debts Recovery Tribunals, the Procedures before them, judgments on the Tribunals, or citations or any other matter, we would request you to kindly visit our main page on the subject, viz BankDRT.com which is a repository of a wealth of information on the topic. Perhaps you may not need to look any where else for any thing connected with Debt Recovery Tribunals.