1.8%
Gross NPA ratio of scheduled commercial banks, March 2026
Source: RBI Financial Stability Report, June 2026 (Chapter II)
Advocate Subodh Bajpai is Senior Partner at Unified Chambers And Associates, New Delhi, and enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2025. This page describes the practice areas relevant to banks, non-banking financial companies, asset reconstruction companies and other secured creditors — secured-creditor enforcement, Debt Recovery Tribunal proceedings, DRAT appeals, NCLT insolvency applications, Section 138 NI Act complaints, and OTS and restructuring documentation — and what an empanelment application to the chambers needs.
Every engagement begins with a conflict check and is recorded in a written engagement letter.
Enrolment, Degrees and Authorship
Enrolment and membership numbers as issued by the Bar Council of Delhi and the Delhi High Court Bar Association; degrees from the University of Delhi and XLRI Jamshedpur; book ISBN 9781636409894. Factual disclosure only, with no comparative claims, consistent with BCI Rule 36.
Each published figure below is stated with its source and the date it relates to; such figures change with each new release, so check the source for the current position. Statutory figures are taken from the text of the Act named against them.
Gross NPA ratio of scheduled commercial banks, March 2026
Source: RBI Financial Stability Report, June 2026 (Chapter II)
Cases pending before the Debts Recovery Tribunals as on 24 January 2024 (Original Applications and SARFAESI securitisation applications)
Source: Ministry of Finance reply, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 440, February 2024
Corporate insolvency resolution processes admitted under the IBC up to 30 June 2026
Source: IBBI Quarterly Newsletter, April–June 2026 (Table 2)
Realisation by creditors as a share of their admitted claims, in CIRPs that yielded resolution plans, up to 30 June 2026
Source: IBBI Quarterly Newsletter, April–June 2026 (Table 2)
Minimum debt for an application before a Debts Recovery Tribunal
Source: Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act 1993, Section 1(4), as notified in 2018
Minimum amount of default for initiating the corporate insolvency resolution process
Source: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, Section 4, as notified in March 2020
Recovery and insolvency proceedings brought by lenders in Delhi run before the following courts and tribunals.
Writ petitions under Article 226 against enforcement measures and tribunal orders, supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227, commercial suits on the Original Side, and appeals from the district courts.
Original applications under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993; securitisation applications under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act against measures taken under Section 13(4); recovery certificates and their execution.
Appeals from DRT orders under Section 20 of the RDB Act and Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act, heard on facts and law, subject to the statutory pre-deposit.
Section 7 applications by financial creditors, Section 9 applications by operational creditors, Section 95 applications against personal guarantors of corporate debtors, resolution-plan approval under Section 31, and liquidation.
Appeals from NCLT orders under Section 61 of the IBC (30 days, extendable by up to 15) and under Section 421 of the Companies Act, 2013 (45 days).
Section 138 NI Act complaints, civil recovery suits and execution, and applications to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act.
Jurisdiction, pecuniary limits and appeal routes for each forum are set out on the courts and tribunals page.
The practice covers secured-creditor and operational-creditor work from the pre-litigation notice through recovery, asset realisation and post-resolution compliance. The statutory work in each area is described below.
Demand notices under Section 13(2); considering and replying to the borrower's representation or objection under Section 13(3A); measures under Section 13(4); applications to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate under Section 14 for physical possession; and replies to securitisation applications filed by borrowers under Section 17 before the DRT. A defect at the notice stage carries through the rest of the enforcement.
Original applications under Section 19 for debts of ₹20 lakh and above, and coordination between SARFAESI enforcement against secured assets and a parallel DRT application for the balance of the same debt.
Appeals under Section 20 of the RDB Act and Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act. A Section 18 appeal by a borrower requires a deposit of 50% of the debt claimed or determined, whichever is less, which the DRAT may reduce to 25%.
Section 7 applications by banks, NBFCs and ARCs before the NCLT. Admission turns on whether a financial debt is due and in default; the application must be within limitation and the default must meet the threshold under Section 4 (currently ₹1 crore). The work continues through the proposal of the interim resolution professional and resolution-plan approval under Section 31.
Applications under Section 95 against personal guarantors of corporate debtors, which are heard by the NCLT under Section 60(1). Since 26 May 2026, Section 96(4) excludes these applications from the Section 96 interim moratorium, so filing does not stay other proceedings; the resolution professional is appointed under Section 97 and reports before the NCLT decides admission under Section 100, the Section 101 moratorium begins on admission, and a repayment plan follows.
Proceedings before the identification and review committees under the RBI's entity-wise Treatment of Wilful Defaulters and Large Defaulters Directions, 2025, issued on 28 November 2025 in place of the 2024 directions. The directions require notice to the borrower, an opportunity to make a representation and a reasoned order; a declaration made without them is open to challenge.
The show-cause procedure under the RBI's entity-wise Fraud Risk Management Directions, 2026, issued on 31 July 2026 in place of the 2024 directions. For commercial banks, the directions require a detailed show-cause notice to the persons and entities concerned, not less than 21 days to reply, and a reasoned order dealing with the reply before an account is classified as fraud.
Demand notices within 30 days of the bank's return memo, complaints within one month of the cause of action, interim compensation under Section 143A, and compounding under Section 147.
One-time settlement letters, settlement deeds and restructuring agreements, drafted so that the terms can be enforced if the settlement fails, together with post-restructuring compliance documents.
Recovery on assigned debts — SARFAESI enforcement, DRT applications and IBC applications where the ARC is the financial creditor — and the assignment documents under Section 5 of the SARFAESI Act on which the ARC's standing rests.
Written opinions on enforceability, limitation, jurisdiction and choice of forum before a lender commits to a particular proceeding.
The steps below describe how an enquiry from a bank, NBFC or ARC is handled. They adapt to the institution’s own empanelment procedure.
The institution's legal or panel-procurement team writes to connect@subodhbajpai.in. A conflict check is run on the borrower groups and counterparties named before any substantive discussion.
Once the conflict check is clear, the institution sets out the forums, practice areas and kinds of matter it expects to refer, and the chambers confirm what falls within the practice.
A written engagement letter records the scope, reporting, conflict management and the other terms agreed in writing.
The chambers complete the institution's own panel documentation, KYC and policy attestations as its empanelment process requires.
Matter reports follow the format and frequency set out in the engagement letter, including any fields the institution's internal reporting requires.
The answers below are general information on the practice and the empanelment process. Any particular matter turns on its own facts.
The practice covers secured-creditor enforcement under the SARFAESI Act, 2002; original applications and recovery-certificate execution under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993 before the Debt Recovery Tribunal; appeals before the DRAT; applications by financial creditors under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016; applications against personal guarantors under Section 95; Section 138 NI Act complaints; and one-time settlement and restructuring documentation.
An application should identify the institution and the person making the enquiry, set out the forums and practice areas for which empanelment is sought, and name the borrower groups and counterparties involved so that a conflict check can be run. The institution's own panel forms, KYC requirements and policy attestations should be sent with it. Any engagement is then recorded in a written engagement letter.
Before an instruction is accepted, the names of the borrower, the guarantors and the group entities are checked against the chambers' records. Where several lenders have exposure to the same borrower group, the check is repeated for each new instruction. An instruction that would create a conflict is declined. The conflict-management terms are recorded in the engagement letter.
Advocate Subodh Bajpai enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2025 (Enrolment No. D/3264/25). The practice is before the Delhi High Court; the Debt Recovery Tribunals and the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal at Delhi; the NCLT benches at New Delhi and the NCLAT; the district courts of Delhi; and Special Courts. Recovery work at the district courts includes Section 138 NI Act complaints and civil recovery suits.
An appeal from a DRT order in a recovery application lies to the DRAT under Section 20 of the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993. An appeal from a DRT order on a SARFAESI Section 17 application lies to the DRAT under Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act, on deposit of 50% of the debt claimed or determined, whichever is less, which the DRAT may reduce to 25%. An appeal from an NCLT order under the IBC lies to the NCLAT under Section 61.
An empanelment enquiry should include the following. Information shared at this stage is kept confidential and used only for the conflict check and the scope discussion.
Send the enquiry to connect@subodhbajpai.in with the subject line “Empanelment Enquiry — [Institution Name]”. A reference structure for an engagement letter is at /engagement-letter-template.
Practice notice under Bar Council of India Rules: This page describes the practice areas, forums and empanelment process. It is information, not an advertisement or solicitation, and makes no representation about outcomes, which depend on the facts and the forum. All engagements are governed by a written engagement letter executed before substantive work begins. Advocate Subodh Bajpai, the Senior Partner, enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2025 (Enrolment No. D/3264/25) and practises subject to the Bar Council of India Rules, including Rule 36 of Part VI, Chapter II.
Empanelment enquiries from banks, NBFCs, asset reconstruction companies and co-operative banks can be sent by email to the address below.
Contact the Chambersconnect@subodhbajpai.in · New Delhi