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TMI Blog2002 (6) TMI 437X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 and with rule 19 of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1993. In the said application, they have requested the Tribunal to permit them to raise a counter-claim in a sum of Rs. 65 lakhs together with current and future interest. That application is opposed by the applicant. When the application was filed by the defendants before the Registry of the Tribunal, the same came to be returned with a direction to pay the court fee on the counter claim. Basing on the note made by the Registry, the learned Presiding Judge of the Tribunal has ordered for payment of the requisite court fee to consider the aforesaid application. Aggrieved by the same, defendants in the original application ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ections 2( g ), 19(8) and 19(9) of the Act and rule 7 of the Rules required to be noticed. Therefore, they are extracted. They read as under : "Section 2( g ) debt: 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f interest which is claimed as due from any person by a bank or a financial institution. Chapter IV of the Act provides for procedure before the Tribunal. Section 19 speaks of application to the Tribunal. Section 19(8) of the Act provides for an application being filed by a defendant in addition to his right of pleading a set off as envisaged under sub-section (6) of the Act, set up, by way of counter-claim against the claim of the applicant any right or claim in respect of cause of action accruing to the defendant against the applicant either before or after filing of the application. Sub-section (9) of section 19 of the Act provides for the procedure to be adopted by the learned Presiding Officer of the Tribunal while deciding the cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t must be restricted to cases of grave dereliction of duty and flagrant abuse of fundamental principles of law or injustice, where grave injustice would be done unless the High Court interferes, let me notice the fact situation and the orders made by the Appellate Tribunal in M.A. No. 5 of 2002. The bank has filed a suit against the defendants for recovery of debts due to it. After service of notice of the application, the defendants before the Tribunal, have filed an application I.A. No. 15 of 2001 under section 19(8) of the Act claiming counter-claim agaisnt the applicants. But, along with the application, they had not paid the requisite court fee. The office of the Tribunal has taken exception for filing of the application without a pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ter-claim is based on separate and independent cause of action. The suit was required to be filed by paying separate court fee within the period of limitation. Even in such of those cases where the suit and the counter- claim is filed by the bank and the defendant s suit is pending before the civil court and after constitution of the Debt Recovery Tribunal, by virtue of section 31 of the Act, what could be transferred is only the suit filed by the bank, the counter-claim was still required to be delinked from the original suit and decided by the civil court alone. Because of this anomalous situation and keeping in view the interest of the defendants also, the Legislature has thought it fit to amend the provisions of section 19 of the Act by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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