S.14 SARFAESI Act | Creditor Bound By Time-Limit Prescribed By Magistrate For Taking Possession Of Secured Asset: Andhra Pradesh HC

[02 March 2022] The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that once the time specified in the warrant issued by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate under Section 14 of SARFAESI Act had elapsed, possession of the secured asset cannot be taken under the same warrant unless the time granted is extended.
Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and B.S. Bhanumathi observed, “The main objective of the Act is to enable secured borrowers to take physical possession of the assets of the defaulting borrowers in an expeditious manner; if no time limit is fixed it would be self-defeating inasmuch as though the statute indicates a time frame for the CMM/District Magistrate to pass an order, if the person/authority who is required to carry out the order does not do so within the time fixed, it would lead to an anomalous position in law as there is no remedy prescribed under the statute.”