Section 14 under SARFAESI is ministerial only; disputes over secured assets must go before the Tribunal.

Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act was treated as a procedural, ministerial provision: the District Magistrate's role is limited to assisting the secured creditor in taking possession of the secured asset and forwarding the asset and connected documents. The authority under that provision has no adjudicatory jurisdiction to decide disputes between the secured creditor and the debtor. Any challenge relating to the secured asset must be pursued through the statutory remedies under sections 13, 17 and 18 before the Debts Recovery Tribunal and the appellate forum, with section 34 excluding civil court intervention. An order rejecting a request under section 14 was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the District Magistrate acting under section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 has any adjudicatory power to examine disputes between the secured creditor and the debtor, and whether an order rejecting a request under that provision can be sustained.

Analysis: Section 14 was construed as a procedural and ministerial provision by which the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate is required to assist the secured creditor in taking possession of the secured asset and to forward the asset and connected documents. The authority under that provision is not vested with adjudicatory jurisdiction to decide disputes relating to the secured asset. The statutory scheme under sections 13, 17 and 18 provides the borrower or other aggrieved person with a complete remedy before the Debts Recovery Tribunal and the appellate forum, while section 34 excludes civil court intervention in matters entrusted to those forums. In that setting, the District Magistrate could not travel beyond the limited role assigned by section 14 or usurp powers reserved to the Tribunal.

Conclusion: The District Magistrate had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute under section 14 and the rejection order was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: The authority acting under section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 performs only an -like ministerial function to aid possession, and any dispute concerning the secured asset must be pursued through the statutory remedy before the Tribunal.

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