“Section 18(2) of The SARFAESI Act provides that the Appellate Tribunal shall follow the provisions of The Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 in disposing of the appeal unless otherwise provided under The SARFAESI Act or the Rules made thereunder. The proviso to Section 20(3) of The RDDBFI Act empowers the Appellate Tribunal to entertain an appeal after expiry of period of limitation, if sufficient cause for not filing the appeal within the period of limitation was shown.

A bare perusal of the said Section 18(2) makes it clear that the Appellate Tribunal under The SARFAESI Act has to dispose of an appeal in accordance with the provisions of The RDDBFI Act. In this respect, the provisions of The RDDBFI Act stand incorporated in The SARFAESI Act for disposal of an appeal.

The principle of legislation by incorporation is well known. We have thus no hesitation in holding that the Appellate Tribunal under The SARFAESI Act has the power to condone the delay in filing an appeal before it by virtue of Section 18(2) of The SARFAESI Act and proviso to Section 20(3) of The RDDBFI Act. The fact that The RDDBFI Act and The SARFAESI Act are complimentary to each other also supports this view.”

– Hon’ble Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Baleshwar Dayal v. Bank of India [Civil Appeal Nos. 5924-5927 of 2015].