Section 14 SARFAESI proceedings are ministerial only, so notice to borrower or transferee is not mandatory in revision.

Proceedings under section 14 of the SARFAESI Act are confined to ministerial assistance by the Magistrate in taking possession of secured assets, without adjudicating competing claims over title or possession. A borrower or transferee's remedies against the secured creditor's measures lie under section 17, not in section 14 proceedings. In a revision or section 482 petition challenging refusal to act under section 14, the revisional court likewise does not determine those rights, so the notice requirement under section 401(2) CrPC does not apply. Notice to the borrower or transferee was therefore not mandatory, and a direction to issue notice was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether, in a revision petition or a petition under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 challenging an order declining to act under section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, notice was required to be issued to the borrower and the transferee of the secured asset.

Analysis: The scope of section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 is confined to assistance by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate in taking possession of the secured asset on the request of the secured creditor. The Magistrate does not adjudicate competing rights and is not required to decide the borrower's title or the rights of a transferee at that stage. The remedy against the measures taken by the secured creditor lies under section 17 of the Act, and not in proceedings before the Magistrate under section 14. In a revision challenging refusal to act under section 14(1), the revisional court similarly does not determine the borrower's or transferee's rights, and the principles of section 401(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 do not require notice to such persons in this limited proceeding.

Conclusion: Notice to the borrower or transferee was not required in the revision petition, and the direction to issue notice was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Proceedings under section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 are limited to ministerial assistance for taking possession of secured assets and do not involve adjudication of the borrower's or transferee's rights; therefore, notice to such persons is not mandatory in a revision challenging refusal to act under that provision.

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