Mandatory pre-deposit under the Securitisation Act cannot be fully waived; tribunal may reduce it only within the statutory limit.

Pre-deposit under the Securitisation Act's appellate scheme is mandatory where Section 18(1) makes deposit of 50% of the debt a condition precedent for entertainment of the appeal. The proviso permits reduction only for recorded reasons and only down to 25%, so the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal cannot grant a complete waiver or disregard the statutory minimum. Read with the Act's overriding effect, the scheme is intended to ensure strict compliance and expedite recovery of secured debts; an order granting total waiver is therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether an appeal under Section 18(1) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 can be entertained without the borrower's pre-deposit of 50% of the debt, and whether the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal can grant total waiver of that statutory requirement.

Analysis: Section 18(1) confers a right of appeal, but the second proviso makes deposit of 50% of the debt a condition precedent for entertainment of the appeal. The third proviso permits reduction of the amount only for recorded reasons and only up to a minimum of 25% of the debt. The statutory language is clear and admits of no waiver beyond that limit. The Tribunal, being a creature of the statute, cannot ignore the express restriction or grant complete waiver. The scheme of the Act, read with its overriding effect under Section 35, supports strict compliance with the pre-deposit requirement in aid of expeditious recovery of secured debts.

Conclusion: The requirement of pre-deposit under Section 18(1) is mandatory, complete waiver is impermissible, and the order granting such waiver was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute makes pre-deposit a condition precedent for an appeal and confers only limited power to reduce the deposit to a specified minimum, the appellate tribunal has no authority to grant total waiver or entertain the appeal in breach of that statutory mandate.

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