SARFAESI pre-deposit applies only to borrowers and guarantors, not third parties filing appeals under Section 18.

Under Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act, the statutory pre-deposit for an appeal before the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal applies only to the "borrower," read with Section 2(f) to include a guarantor, and not to a person who is neither borrower nor guarantor. Applying the plain meaning of the text, the Delhi HC held that there was no basis to extend the second proviso to third parties. The Tribunal was therefore justified in entertaining the appeal without insisting on the deposit, and the writ challenge was rejected.

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Issues: Whether persons other than the borrower or guarantor, who file an appeal before the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal under Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act, are required to make the statutory pre-deposit for the appeal to be entertained.

Analysis: The appeal provision in Section 18(1) allows any person aggrieved to file an appeal, but the second proviso specifically speaks of the borrower depositing fifty per cent of the debt due, with a limited power to reduce it to twenty-five per cent. Reading Section 18 with the definition of borrower in Section 2(f), the Court held that the expression borrower includes a guarantor but does not extend to a person who is neither borrower nor guarantor. Applying the plain and grammatical meaning of the statutory language, the Court found no ambiguity warranting a broader construction. Authorities dealing with pre-deposit and statutory interpretation were distinguished on their facts or context.

Conclusion: The pre-deposit requirement under the second proviso to Section 18(1) is not attracted to persons who are neither borrowers nor guarantors, and the Appellate Tribunal was in entertaining the appeal without insisting on such deposit.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed, and the challenge to the Appellate Tribunal's order was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: The second proviso to Section 18(1) of the SARFAESI Act must be read with the definition of borrower in Section 2(f), so that the statutory pre-deposit applies only to the borrower, including a guarantor, and not to a third party who is neither borrower nor guarantor.

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