No chairperson for 11 DRTs: Supreme Court seeks government response

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Union government regarding the non-appointment of chairpersons in 11 Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) across the country.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar issued notice on a plea highlighting the issue.

The Court has granted five weeks for the government to file its response, followed by three weeks for the petitioner to submit a rejoinder.

DRTs are quasi-judicial bodies established under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993. They deal with loan recovery disputes and were envisioned to help banks and other creditors recover debts in a faster manner.

However, their functioning has faced roadblocks, including on account of the failure to fill vacancies for the members who form these tribunals.

In 2021, the Supreme Court even asked High Courts to entertain applications that are filed before these fora as a stop-gap measure in view of the lack of personnel at the DRTs and the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT).

"For the time being, we request the High Courts entertain the applications which they have to file before DRT, DRAT under Article 226...Once Tribunal is constituted, the matters can be relegated back to the Tribunal," the top court had said in its December 2021 order.

In 2022, the Kerala High Court joined in calling out the Central government for its inaction in filling up vacancies at various tribunals, causing irreparable hardship to litigants.