Pending tribunal appeals and recovery protection shaped Supreme Court directions, while the SARFAESI applicability question remained open.

Where connected appeals were already pending before the DRT and the Gujarat State Cooperative Tribunal, the Supreme Court declined to examine the dispute on merits in this proceeding. It directed both tribunals to decide the pending appeals within three months and ordered that no coercive recovery steps be taken meanwhile. The Court also kept open the question of law concerning the applicability of the SARFAESI Act, 2002 and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, leaving that issue to be considered in the pending matters.

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Issues: Whether the appeal should be entertained on merits when connected proceedings were already pending before the Debts Recovery Tribunal and the Gujarat State Cooperative Tribunal, and whether interim protection against coercive recovery steps should be granted pending disposal of those proceedings.

Analysis: As the connected appeals were pending before the competent appellate fora, the Court declined to examine the dispute on merits in this proceeding. It directed both tribunals to decide the pending appeals within three months and ordered that no coercive steps be taken for recovery during the pendency of those appeals. The question of law regarding the applicability of the SARFAESI Act, 2002 and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 was kept open.

Outcome: The appeal was disposed of with directions for expeditious adjudication of the pending appeals and with interim protection against recovery action.

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