Exclusive Debt Recovery Tribunal jurisdiction bars High Court applications to set aside ex parte decrees in bank recovery matters.

A bank recovery suit falling within the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Debt Recovery Tribunal. Sections 17 and 18 vest adjudicatory power in the Tribunal, and Section 31 transfers pending and consequential proceedings, including execution-related matters, from the civil court or High Court once the statutory conditions apply. An application under Order IX Rule 13 read with Section 151 CPC to set aside an ex parte decree in such a matter is therefore not maintainable before the High Court and must be pursued before the Tribunal.

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Issues: Whether an application under Order IX Rule 13 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for setting aside an ex parte decree in a bank recovery matter was maintainable before the High Court after the coming into force of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993, or whether it had to be moved before the Debt Recovery Tribunal.

Analysis: The decretal amount constituted a debt within the meaning of the Act and, by reason of Sections 17 and 18, adjudicatory jurisdiction in respect of such matters vested exclusively in the Debt Recovery Tribunal. Section 31 provided for automatic transfer of pending suits and other proceedings, including execution-related proceedings, from the civil court to the Tribunal once the statutory conditions were attracted. The fact that the suit had earlier proceeded in the High Court did not preserve the High Court's jurisdiction to entertain a subsequent application for setting aside the ex parte decree, because all proceedings emanating from the suit stood transferred to the Tribunal by operation of law.

Conclusion: The application for setting aside the ex parte decree was not maintainable before the High Court and could be pursued only before the Debt Recovery Tribunal; the objection to maintainability was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: When a bank recovery suit or proceeding falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Debt Recovery Tribunal under the Act, all pending and consequential proceedings transfer to the Tribunal under Section 31, and the civil court or High Court cannot thereafter entertain applications arising from that matter.

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