DRT Dismisses Appeal due to Non‑Compliance with Pre‑Deposit: DRAT Remands Matter to Examine ₹3.71 Crore Deposit u/s 30 RDB Act [Read Order]

The Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal ( DRAT ) referred a case back to the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) after finding that the dismissal of an appeal for want of pre-deposit of ₹3.71 Crore under section 30 of the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act (RDB) required reconsideration in light of a substantial deposit already made.

The matter arises from R.C. No.255/2015 before the Recovery Officer, whose order dated 27.12. 2016 was challenging before DRT‑III, Delhi. On 12 January 2018, the tribunal dismissed the appeal for non‑compliance with the statutory pre‑deposit requirement.

The appellant, Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Pvt Ltd, argued that it had already deposited an amount of Rs 11 lakhs, including ₹3.71 crore in the present appeal.

The respondent did not raise any objection as far as the amount of pre-deposit is concerned. Rather, the deposit of the same is on record.

Justice Anil Kumar Srivastava (Chairperson) observed that since the deposit was on record and undisputed, the matter should be remitted to the DRT to examine whether the amount Rs 3,71,03, 569/- constituted sufficient compliance under Section 30. Without entering into merits, the appellate tribunal directed that the case be dealt with by DRT‑I, Delhi (to which jurisdiction had already been transferred), and fixed 10 .02.2026 for the parties to appear.

The tribunal noted that “With the observations made above, appeal stands disposed of. File be consigned to record room.”

Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellate tribunal ensured that the statutory pre‑deposit requirement would be properly examined, instead of allowing dismissal to stand without consideration of the substantial deposit already made.

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