The Telangana High Court declined to interfere with an order passed by the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal-Kolkata dismissing its interim application to condone delay of 169 days in appealing against an order of Debt Recovery Tribunal-Hyderabad order.

A bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar dismissed the writ petition filed by the Bank of Baroda (e-Vijaya bank) of ARM branch in Hyderabad in the matter. In 2019, the DRT-Hyderabad directed the bank to refund the bid amount of ₹4.64 crore to Kosetty Krishna, who participated in the auction of a non-performing asset, at the simple interest rate of 5%.

Challenging this order, the bank approached the HC. On April 29 of 2024, the HC ordered the bank to file an appeal before the DRAT within eight weeks. However, the bank filed the appeal on December 10 of 2024, 224 days after the HC passed the order, seeking condonation of the delay of 169 days in filing the appeal. The DRAT dismissed the appeal.

Upholding the DRAT decision, the HC division bench dismissed the bank’s plea observing that the facts of the case suggest that the bank was ‘lethargic and lax in taking their duty to comply with the HC’s direction with seriousness’.