PIL Against Centre's Notification Transferring Matters Above ₹100 Crores To DRT Mumbai: Gujarat HC Issues Notice TO UOI

The Gujarat High Court has issued a notice to the Union of India in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea moved before it challenging the Centre's October 4 notification to the extent it transfers jurisdiction of all applications involving a debt amount of Rs.100 Crores and above falling within the jurisdiction of Debts Recovery Tribunal-I and Debts Recovery Tribunal-II, Ahmedabad to the Debts Recovery Tribunal-I, Mumbai.

Hearing the matter on Tuesday, the bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J. Shastri issued a notice to the UOI and posted the matter for further hearing on January 16. The Bench also permitted the petitioner's counsel to take out a notice on the Additional Solicitor General notifying the hearing date in the matter.

Senior Advocate Percy Kavina and Advocate Vishal J. Dave appeared for the petitioner Advocate Nipun Praveen Singhvi.

Essentially, the PIL plea has been moved contending that the Centre's notification, changing the change of location and jurisdiction of DRT-1 and DRT-2, Ahmedabad, has led to a violation of the legal rights of the bankers/lenders, borrowers, guarantors, and other stakeholders.

"The said change of location and jurisdiction will seriously be impinging on the rights of litigating citizens whose cases are pending before the Debts Recovery Tribunal - 1 and II, at Ahmedabad and new cases which will have to be filed and adjudicate before the Debts Recovery Tribunal - I, Mumbai and their right to have access to speedy justice and fair trial is being compromised. Further, it has led to overburden of Debts Recovery Tribunal - I, Mumbai and therefore, the circumstances are standing against the spirit of law for which Tribunals were created," the PIL plea submits.

It may be noted that as per the notification in question, the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) jurisdictions of all applications involving debt amounts of ₹100 crores and above have been transferred to the DRTs at Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

By virtue of this notification, all applications pending before DRT Ahemdabad, involving a debt amount of ₹100 crores and above stand transferred to DRT Mumbai.

The PIL plea argues that due to the Centre's notification, for every cause of action, litigants would be now required to travel to DRT-I, Mumbai for redressal of grievances under RDBA, SARFAESI, and IBC and this would lead to a situation wherein the access to justice would become costly and trammelled whereas the first court of instance should be accessible.

It also submits that the impugned notification has no intelligible differentia based upon which the jurisdiction has been transferred. It further says that this notification couldn't have been issued by the Ministry of Finance and rather, the Ministry of Law and Justice should have come up with this notification.

Against this backdrop, the PIL plea prays that the impugned notification be set aside and in the meanwhile, the impugned notification be stayed.

It may be noted that in November 2022, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court stayed the Centre's October 4 notification revising the jurisdiction of various Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs).

Later, in December 2022, the Kerala High Court too stayed the operation of notification conferring jurisdiction of all applications involving a debt amount of Rs.100 Crores and above falling within the jurisdiction of Debts Recovery Tribunal-I and Debts Recovery Tribunal-II, Ernakulam with the Debts Recovery Tribunal-I, Chennai.

Case title - NIPUN PRAVEEN SINGHVI Versus UNION OF INDIA [WRIT PETITION (PIL) NO. 91 of 2022]

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