Co-operative banks fall within the debt recovery framework through statutory incorporation and a deeming provision.

Co-operative banks fall within the expression "bank" under the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 because that Act incorporates the definition of "banking company" from the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The incorporated definition must be read with the parent Act's existing context, including section 56(a)(i), which deems references to "banking company" to include co-operative banks. That construction was reinforced by the 1993 Act's object of enabling expeditious recovery of debts, with the result that co-operative banks are amenable to Debt Recovery Tribunal jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether co-operative banks are covered by the definition of "banking company" in section 2(e) of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993, so as to fall within the expression "bank" in section 2(d) of that Act.

Analysis: The definition in section 2(e) of the 1993 Act incorporates the meaning assigned to "banking company" in section 5(c) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The relevant interpretive question was whether this incorporation also carried with it section 56(a)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, which provides that references to "banking company" throughout that Act are to be construed as references to a co-operative bank. Applying the principles of legislation by incorporation, the Court held that the incorporated definition must be read with the existing statutory context of the parent Act at the time of incorporation. Since section 56(a)(i) was already in force, the meaning of "banking company" in section 5(c) had to be understood as including co-operative banks. The Court also held that the object of the 1993 Act, namely expeditious recovery of debts due to banks and financial institutions, supported this construction.

Conclusion: Co-operative banks are covered by the 1993 Act and are amenable to the jurisdiction of the Debt Recovery Tribunal.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a later statute incorporates a definition from an earlier statute, the incorporated expression must be read with the relevant provisions already existing in the parent statute at the time of incorporation, including a contemporaneous deeming provision that expands its meaning.

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