DRT has no power to condone the delay

The Supreme Court has held that the Debts Recovery Tribunal has no power to condone the delay in filing application for review under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act 1993(RDB Act)

The Court held that the provisions of Limitation Act, including the provision to condone delay under Section 5 of it, apply only to original applications filed under Section 19 of the RDB Act and not to review applications.

A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and V Ramasubramanian held so in the case Standard Chartered Bank vs MSTC Ltd.

The Court in this case noted that Section 24 of the RDB Act states that the provisions of Limitation Act apply to "an application made to a Tribunal".

Section 2(b) of the Act defines an "application" as an application made under Section 19 of the Act, which is an original application. The application for review is filed not under Section 19 but as per Section 22(2)(e) read with Rule 5A of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1993.