Central Registry under SARFAESI: a practical guide to CERSAI for lenders, borrowers, and investors

The Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI) is the nationwide database that records securitisation, reconstruction, and security interest transactions to prevent multiple financing and improve transparency in credit markets. It enables time-stamped filings, public search, and statutory recognition of entries relating to charges on movable and immovable assets, thereby…

Enforcement of Security Interest under SARFAESI: A practical guide for bankers and borrowers

The SARFAESI Act provides a clear, time-bound pathway for secured creditors to enforce security interests without initial court intervention, while preserving borrower remedies and safeguards at each step. This guide explains the notice process, possession and management takeover, magistrate assistance, appeals, and borrower rights in a concise, practitioner-friendly format. When enforcement starts Core enforcement measures…

Regulating ARCs under SARFAESI: A practical guide for banks, lenders, and investors

India’s SARFAESI Act sets a clear, end-to-end playbook for how Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) are registered, how they acquire stressed assets, how obligors are notified, how security receipts are issued, what measures ARCs can deploy to resolve assets, how disputes are addressed, and the supervisory powers available to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to…

Regulating Securitisation and Asset Reconstruction: A Practical Guide for Banks and FIs

The SARFAESI framework establishes how securitisation and asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) are licensed, governed, and supervised, and how financial assets are acquired, managed, and resolved, with clear roles for obligors, investors, and the Reserve Bank of India. This article synthesizes the operational touchpoints a banking audience needs: licensing and cancellation, asset acquisition mechanics, obligor notices…

Understanding the SARFAESI Act, 2002: Constitutionality, Key Definitions, and Framework for Asset Recovery in Indian Banking

The SARFAESI Act, 2002 is a cornerstone law empowering banks and financial institutions in India to recover non-performing assets swiftly, primarily by allowing the enforcement of security interests without prior court intervention. Indian courts have affirmed the constitutional validity of the Act, ensuring its mechanisms are both effective and just. Preamble and Overview The full…

Supreme Court on section 14(1) of the SARFAESI ACT: Magistrates can appoint an advocate commissioner to assist them in in execution of the order passed by them

Supreme Court while delivering judgment [NKGSB Cooperative Bank Limited vs Subir Chakravarty | SLP (C) 30240 OF 2019 | 25 February 2022    Coram: Justices AM Khanwilkar and Justice CT Ravikumar] said that the District Magistrate or the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate can appoint an advocate commissioner to assist him/her in the execution of the order passed…

SC rules SARFAESI act applies to cooperative banks as well

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 05, 2020) held that cooperative banks come under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Act 2002 (SARFAESI Act). The SARFAESI Act law empowers lenders to seize and sell defaulters’ assets. A five members constitution bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, M.R.…

Secured assets possessed under the SARFAESI Act, shall be displayed by creditors: RBI

RBI on Monday asked all the Regulated Entities (REs) of the Reserve Bank to display information on secured assets possessed under the SARFAESI Act, 2002. “As a part of the move towards greater transparency, it has been decided that the Regulated Entities (REs) of the Reserve Bank which are secured creditors as per the Securitisation…