SARFAESI enforcement not barred by pending civil proceedings; section 14 is only an enabling possession-assistance provision.

Pendency of civil proceedings or execution proceedings does not bar a secured creditor from enforcing its rights under the SARFAESI Act, and the existence of a decree or execution petition does not take away that statutory power. Section 14 is only an enabling provision to obtain assistance in taking possession where resistance is encountered, not a compulsory step in every case. The bank was therefore entitled to proceed under the Act without first invoking section 14 in all situations.

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Issues: Whether the pendency of civil proceedings or execution proceedings barred the bank from taking measures under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, and whether the bank was bound in every case to seek assistance under section 14 of the Act for taking possession.

Analysis: The Act permits the secured creditor to proceed with enforcement notwithstanding parallel civil proceedings. The existence of a decree or execution petition did not denude the bank of its statutory power to invoke the measures available under the Act. Section 14 was construed as an enabling provision meant to assist the secured creditor in obtaining possession where resistance is encountered, and not as a compulsory route to be followed in every case. The provision was understood as a mechanism to secure assistance and prevent forcible dispossession, rather than as an inexorable precondition to enforcement.

Conclusion: The petitioner's challenge failed. The bank was entitled to proceed under the Act, and it was not mandatory to resort to section 14 in all cases.

Ratio Decidendi: Pendency of civil proceedings does not bar enforcement action under the SARFAESI Act, and section 14 is only an enabling provision for assistance in taking possession where necessary.

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