Ancillary powers of the Debt Recovery Tribunal permit inventory of company assets in liquidation without prior company court leave.

The Debt Recovery Tribunal's power under section 19(18)(e) of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 to appoint a Commissioner for an inventory of a company's assets was treated as an ancillary power in aid of its recovery jurisdiction under section 17. That limited direction did not divest the provisional liquidator of custody or encroach on the company court's substantive control over winding up. Applying Allahabad Bank, prior leave of the company court was not required for the inventory exercise, and the objection based on liquidation failed.

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Issues: Whether the Debt Recovery Tribunal, while exercising power under section 19(18)(e) of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993, could appoint a Commissioner to prepare an inventory of the company's properties in the custody of a provisional liquidator without prior leave of the company court under the Companies Act, 1956.

Analysis: The Tribunal's power to appoint a Commissioner for preparing an inventory was treated as an ancillary power in aid of its jurisdiction to entertain and decide recovery applications under section 17 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993. The Act also ousts the jurisdiction of other courts, save the Supreme Court and the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, in relation to matters covered by section 17. The Court held that the limited direction to make an inventory did not amount to divesting the provisional liquidator of custody or usurping the company court's jurisdiction. The earlier decision in Allahabad Bank was applied to hold that no prior leave of the company court was required for such a step.

Conclusion: The Tribunal could validly direct preparation of an inventory through a Commissioner without obtaining prior leave of the company court, and the objection based on the provisional liquidator's custody failed.

Final Conclusion: The order of the High Court was set aside, and the provisional liquidator was required to permit the Commissioner to take inventory of the company's properties. The appeal succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A Debt Recovery Tribunal may exercise its ancillary powers under the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 to secure an inventory of assets, even where the company is in liquidation, without prior leave of the company court, so long as the direction does not divest the liquidator's custody or encroach upon the winding-up court's substantive control.

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