Debt Recovery Tribunal to be computerised: Jaitley

Government is looking at computerisation of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and also plans to reduce the number of oral hearing to two, Finance Minster Arun Jaitely said today.
"I have suggested to the Department of Financial Services, since the administration of DRT is not under a judicial authority but the department looks after it, to consider on a high priority basis the computerisation of the entire procedures of the DRT itself," Jaitely said at the 68th Annual General Meeting here today.
The Indian Banks Association today elected Ashwani Kumar, chairman and Managing Director of Dena Bank as its chairman for the term 2015-16.

Jaitley said the Sarfaesi Act has worked well but the slow procedure at the DRT level at times can defeat the expeditious provisions available to the lenders in the Act.
He further said that all kinds of filings can be done over internet with the computerisation.
"The filing of pleading, the filing of document, the filing of replies, would all be done on the net itself, with only a provision for two oral hearings in a defined period of time -- one for an interim order and one for a final order."

He also said there have been some concerns about absence of an exit policy in bankruptcy law but soon the draft guidelines will be out on this.

"I myself has taken some meetings with the committee which is drafting the law. It is almost in the final stages of the draft and by end of this month, or early next month, the final draft will be out. I hope it will be placed before Parliament very soon," Jaitley said.
He said the draft on resolution of disputes relating to major contracts will also be out soon.
"Very soon, hopefully in the course of this very fiscal, that law should see the light of the day," he said.