The Bombay High Court on July 25th expressed its regret over the ‘sorry state of affairs’ in the state over the fact that the government of India hasn’t relocated two Debt Recovery Tribunals from Mumbai. It has also stated that the centre still hasn’t done the same with the appellate tribunal almost 2 months after a fire in the Scindia House. The DRT, located in the Scindia House building at Ballard Estate in South Mumbai has been non-functional since a fire had broken down earlier in June this year.
The bench led by Justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla has directed the centre to ‘immediately consider’ the situation. The court, said while Mumbai was considered the financial capital of India, the city-based DRT system, which dealt with debt-recovery cases involving banks, financial institutions and their customers was not functional for ‘over a month.’
“The government should be doing all this on their own, instead of the issue coming before us and the court passing orders on it,” stated Justice Oka.
Debt Recovery Tribunal in India is a tribunal created for financial recovery of bad debts which are due to bank and financial institutions. In India, there is a total thirty-three Debt Recovery Tribunal and five Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal.
“The government should be doing this on their own instead of us deciding and passing orders. In the financial capital of the country the Debt Recovery Tribunal is not functioning, is the finance ministry sleeping?” stated former Advocate General of Maharashtra Shrihari Aney who represented the DRT Bar Association.
The court directed the Centre ‘to make available government-owned or other premises for proper relocation of the tribunal which plays a vital role in recovery of large amounts of debts that banks that financial institutions face in the nation’s financial capital and on temporary basis for six-months at least as early as possible and in any case before August 10’.