National Development Rank v. Chrys Tea (Pvt) Ltd and Another – sllr 2000 volume 2 page 206

In the case between National Development Bank (petitioner) and Chrys Tea (Pvt) Ltd and Another (respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether an order permitting the deposit of Rs. 500,000 as security, when the claim exceeded Rs. 7,000,000, satisfied the statutory requirements under the Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) Act. It was held that the order failed to comply with the Act, as the statutory test necessitates satisfaction by affidavit of a prima facie defence before allowing any discretionary reduction of security, and no such defence was disclosed by the respondents. This holding reaffirmed that full compliance with Sections 6(2)(a), 6(2)(b), and 6(2)(c) is mandatory, and the deposit ordered was therefore insufficient as a matter of statutory interpretation. As a result,