All 39 Debt Recovery Tribunals in India: Complete List, Structure, Jurisdiction and Role of DRTs
India currently has 39 Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) and 5 Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals (DRATs) functioning across the country. The tribunals operate under the administrative framework of the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, and are designed to provide a specialized forum for adjudicating and recovering debts owed to banks and financial institutions.
The statutory foundation of the DRT system is the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993, commonly known as the RDB Act. The legislation provides for the establishment of tribunals for the adjudication and recovery of debts due to banks and financial institutions and establishes the appellate mechanism through Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals.
The present nationwide network consists of DRTs located in major financial and administrative centres, including Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Delhi, Dehradun, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Ranchi, Siliguri and Visakhapatnam.
The 39 Debt Recovery Tribunals are DRT-1 Ahmedabad, DRT-2 Ahmedabad, DRT Allahabad, DRT Aurangabad, DRT-1 Bengaluru, DRT-2 Bengaluru, DRT-1 Chandigarh, DRT-2 Chandigarh, DRT-3 Chandigarh, DRT-1 Chennai, DRT-2 Chennai, DRT-3 Chennai, DRT Coimbatore, DRT Cuttack, DRT-1 Delhi, DRT-2 Delhi, DRT-3 Delhi, DRT Dehradun, DRT-1 Ernakulam, DRT-2 Ernakulam, DRT Guwahati, DRT-1 Hyderabad, DRT-2 Hyderabad, DRT Jabalpur, DRT Jaipur, DRT-1 Kolkata, DRT-2 Kolkata, DRT-3 Kolkata, DRT Lucknow, DRT Madurai, DRT-1 Mumbai, DRT-2 Mumbai, DRT-3 Mumbai, DRT Nagpur, DRT Patna, DRT Pune, DRT Ranchi, DRT Siliguri and DRT Visakhapatnam.
The 39 tribunals are organized under five Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals. The five appellate centres are DRAT Allahabad, DRAT Chennai, DRAT Delhi, DRAT Kolkata and DRAT Mumbai. A DRAT hears appeals arising from DRT orders within its assigned territorial and institutional jurisdiction.
Under the Allahabad appellate jurisdiction are DRT Allahabad, DRT Dehradun, DRT Jabalpur, DRT Lucknow, DRT Patna and DRT Ranchi. This group contains six of India’s 39 DRTs and covers a significant portion of northern and central India.
Under DRAT Chennai are DRT-1 Chennai, DRT-2 Chennai, DRT-3 Chennai, DRT-1 Bengaluru, DRT-2 Bengaluru, DRT Coimbatore, DRT-1 Ernakulam, DRT-2 Ernakulam and DRT Madurai. These tribunals cover important financial and commercial centres in southern India.
Under DRAT Delhi are DRT-1 Delhi, DRT-2 Delhi, DRT-3 Delhi, DRT-1 Chandigarh, DRT-2 Chandigarh, DRT-3 Chandigarh and DRT Jaipur. These tribunals form the DRT network associated with the Delhi appellate jurisdiction.
Under DRAT Kolkata are DRT-1 Kolkata, DRT-2 Kolkata, DRT-3 Kolkata, DRT-1 Hyderabad, DRT-2 Hyderabad, DRT Visakhapatnam, DRT Siliguri, DRT Cuttack and DRT Guwahati. This appellate jurisdiction covers a geographically wide area involving eastern, northeastern and parts of southern-central India.
Under DRAT Mumbai are DRT-1 Mumbai, DRT-2 Mumbai, DRT-3 Mumbai, DRT-1 Ahmedabad, DRT-2 Ahmedabad, DRT Aurangabad, DRT Nagpur and DRT Pune. These tribunals serve major commercial and industrial regions in western and central India.
The role of a DRT is different from that of an ordinary civil court. The Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act gives a Tribunal jurisdiction and authority to entertain and decide applications from banks and financial institutions for recovery of debts due to them. The Act also provides appellate jurisdiction to the Appellate Tribunal over orders made by a DRT.
A major category of proceedings before DRTs is the Original Application, commonly called an OA, filed by a bank or financial institution seeking recovery of money from a borrower or other liable party. These proceedings can involve substantial financial claims and extensive documentary evidence concerning loans, guarantees, securities and repayment obligations.
DRTs also play an important role in proceedings connected with the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, commonly known as the SARFAESI Act. The SARFAESI framework gives secured creditors mechanisms for enforcement of security interests, subject to the statutory requirements and remedies available to affected parties.
A borrower, guarantor or certain other affected persons can therefore encounter the DRT system not only when a bank files a recovery proceeding but also when challenging measures taken under SARFAESI. Applications filed under the SARFAESI framework are commonly referred to as Securitisation Applications or SAs.
The DRT system is also connected with the enforcement and realization of security interests. Once a tribunal reaches the relevant stage of adjudication, the statutory framework provides mechanisms involving recovery certificates and Recovery Officers. A recovery certificate can be issued following the tribunal’s order and transmitted to the Recovery Officer for recovery of the amount specified in the certificate.
The scale of the system is significant. Government data has shown that between financial years 2017–18 and 2023–24, DRTs disposed of 199,109 Original Application cases involving approximately ₹8.97 lakh crore, while 75,914 Securitisation Application cases involving approximately ₹5.98 lakh crore were disposed of during the same period.
In 2023–24, DRTs disposed of 36,395 Original Application cases involving approximately ₹1.64 lakh crore and 16,146 Securitisation Application cases involving approximately ₹1.42 lakh crore. For 2024–25, provisional figures through December 2024 showed 23,088 OA disposals involving approximately ₹98,017 crore and 11,000 SA disposals involving approximately ₹82,152 crore.
Digitisation has become an important part of the DRT system. The Government has implemented the e-DRT project to digitize the functioning of all 39 DRTs and five DRATs. The system includes facilities such as e-filing, online court-fee payment, SMS alerts, case-status services, document scrutiny, hearing-related functions, uploading of orders and judgments and access to cause lists.
The digitisation of DRT proceedings is particularly important because debt-recovery litigation often involves extensive documentary evidence, including loan agreements, sanction letters, statements of accounts, security documents, guarantees, mortgage records, notices, possession documents and auction-related material. A digital case-management system can make filing and tracking of proceedings more accessible to litigants and legal professionals.
The Government has also introduced mandatory e-filing requirements for certain high-value DRT matters. E-filing was made mandatory for cases amounting to ₹100 crore and above before DRTs under the relevant government notification. The objective was to facilitate online filing, document uploading, fee payment and access to case material during proceedings.
Another important development is the continuing effort to improve access to the tribunal system. Helpdesk support and e-Sewa Kendras have been established in DRTs, alongside the continuing development of the e-DRT system.
For borrowers, the DRT system can become particularly significant after a loan account develops into a serious default dispute. Depending on the circumstances, a matter may involve recovery proceedings, enforcement of security, objections to measures taken by a secured creditor, disputes concerning guarantees or questions relating to the validity and legality of recovery actions.
For banks and financial institutions, DRTs form a specialized recovery mechanism intended to deal with debt disputes more efficiently than traditional civil litigation. The statutory objective itself is centred on expeditious adjudication and recovery of debts due to banks and financial institutions.
The existence of 39 DRTs does not mean that every banking dispute automatically belongs before a DRT. Jurisdiction depends upon the governing legislation, the nature of the claim, the parties involved, the amount and character of the debt, the security-enforcement action involved and other applicable legal requirements. Questions concerning jurisdiction and the availability of a particular remedy therefore have to be examined against the specific facts of an individual case.
The five DRATs provide the appellate layer of the system. Their role is important because DRT orders can have substantial financial consequences for borrowers, guarantors, banks and financial institutions. The statutory framework provides for appeals against orders made by DRTs before the appropriate Appellate Tribunal.
The current 39-DRT structure also illustrates the geographical spread of India’s specialized debt-recovery system. From Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the west to Kolkata and Guwahati in the east and northeast, from Delhi and Chandigarh in the north to Chennai, Bengaluru, Ernakulam and Madurai in the south, and from Jabalpur and Nagpur to Visakhapatnam and Cuttack, the tribunals collectively form a nationwide institutional network for financial recovery litigation.
For legal practitioners, borrowers, guarantors, banks and financial institutions, identifying the correct DRT and its territorial jurisdiction is one of the first practical issues in a debt-recovery dispute. The fact that several cities have more than one tribunal, as seen in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Ernakulam, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, makes it particularly important to determine the applicable tribunal rather than relying solely on the name of the city.
As of 2026, the DRT system therefore comprises 39 Debt Recovery Tribunals and five Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals. Together, they form a specialized national framework for proceedings concerning recovery of bank and financial-institution debts and related statutory remedies.
The DRT framework remains an important component of India’s financial and legal infrastructure. Its purpose extends beyond recovery of individual loans because efficient debt recovery can affect banks’ balance sheets, recovery of stressed assets, credit discipline and the broader functioning of the financial system.
For anyone researching DRT litigation, the principal legal frameworks to examine are the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993, the SARFAESI Act, 2002 and the rules and regulations made under the relevant legislation. Because tribunal jurisdictions, Presiding Officers, addresses and administrative arrangements can change, current case-specific information should always be checked before filing or appearing in a matter.
