Judicial discretion in pre-deposit relief under debt recovery law must rest on reasons, and a partial waiver order may stand.

Section 21 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 requires pre-deposit for an appeal, while its proviso permits judicial waiver or reduction on relevant reasons. The High Court held that the Appellate Tribunal had properly exercised that discretion by considering the prolonged non-payment, the appellants' conduct, and the circumstances of the case, and by reducing the pre-deposit to 60% of the decretal amount. The recorded reasons were found germane and not arbitrary. The existence of securities did not change the position because the debt had remained unrecovered for years, so the partial pre-deposit order was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the Appellate Tribunal failed to exercise its discretion under section 21 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 while directing partial pre-deposit for entertaining the appeal.

Analysis: Section 21 embodies a mandatory pre-deposit requirement for appeals against debt recovery orders, while its proviso permits waiver or reduction of the amount to be deposited. That discretion must be exercised judicially and supported by reasons. Here, the Tribunal considered the relevant circumstances, including the prolonged non-payment and the conduct attributed to the appellants, and granted only partial relief by reducing the pre-deposit to 60% of the decretal amount. The reasons recorded were found to be germane and the exercise of discretion was not arbitrary. The existence of securities did not alter the position, as the debt had remained unrecovered for years.

Conclusion: The Tribunal did not fail to exercise its discretion and its order directing partial pre-deposit was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: The discretion to waive or reduce pre-deposit under the proviso to section 21 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 must be exercised judicially on relevant reasons, and a reasoned partial waiver order will not be interfered with unless shown to be arbitrary or infirm.

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