How to Track a DRT / DRAT Case Status in India (2026)
How to track a Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) or Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) case status in India: where the data appears, searching by party or advocate, SARFAESI and OA matters, and setting alerts. Last verified October 2026.
How-To Guide · Debt Recovery
You track a Debts Recovery Tribunal case through the DRT online system, searching by the case number, the party name, or the advocate. DRTs hear bank recovery applications (OAs) and borrower challenges to SARFAESI enforcement (SAs), and appeals go to the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT). Because the money and the property at stake are large, missing a hearing can be costly, so this guide explains where DRT and DRAT data appears, how to search it, which matters sit there, and how to get alerts so a date is never missed. Last verified October 2026.
- Where: the DRT online system, which carries case status, cause lists and orders for the DRTs and the DRAT.
- How to search: by case number, by party name (bank, borrower or guarantor), or by advocate.
- What sits there: bank recovery Original Applications (OA) and borrower Securitisation Applications (SA) under Section 17 SARFAESI, plus appeals to the DRAT.
- Law: DRTs and the DRAT are set up under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993.
- Alerts: diarise the next date, watch for order uploads, and use a tracking tool if you follow many matters.
01What DRT and DRAT do
Debts Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) are special tribunals set up under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993, to decide recovery of debts owed to banks and financial institutions, above the threshold fixed by the Act. Appeals from a DRT go to the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT).
Two kinds of matters dominate the DRT list:
- Original Applications (OA): filed by a bank or financial institution to recover a debt from a borrower.
- Securitisation Applications (SA): filed by a borrower under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, to challenge the bank's enforcement action against secured assets.
So the same tribunal sees both the bank chasing the money and the borrower resisting enforcement. For the enforcement side, see how to respond to a SARFAESI notice before the DRT.
02Where the DRT and DRAT data appears
DRT and DRAT proceedings have moved largely online. Case data appears on the DRT online system, developed under the Department of Financial Services, where you can e-file and check case status, cause lists and orders. The Department of Financial Services site also lists the tribunals and their contacts.
Confirm the current portal
The DRT e-services are reached through the official government portal. Confirm the current web address for the DRT online system and the specific tribunal before you rely on it, because government portals are periodically moved or merged.
Unlike the regular courts on eCourts, DRT data sits on this separate tribunal system, which is one reason DRT matters are easy to lose track of if you only watch the court portals.
03Searching by party or advocate
On the DRT system you can usually look up a matter in more than one way:
- By case number: the quickest route if you have the OA or SA number and year.
- By party name: the bank, the borrower or the guarantor, useful when you do not have the number.
- By advocate: to pull the matters an advocate is appearing in, which helps a counsel or firm see their whole DRT board.
Open the case record to read the current stage, the last order and the next hearing date. If a name is common, add the year or the tribunal to narrow the results.
04SARFAESI and OA matters in practice
Knowing which bucket a matter sits in tells you where to look and what is at stake.
| Matter | Who files | What it is about |
|---|---|---|
| Original Application (OA) | Bank or financial institution | Recovery of a defaulted debt from the borrower and guarantors |
| Securitisation Application (SA) | Borrower | Challenge under Section 17 SARFAESI to the bank's enforcement against secured assets |
| Appeal | Either side | Appeal before the DRAT from a DRT order |
For a lender, the OAs and the borrower SAs together make up the recovery portfolio that has to be watched. For the wider idea of following these matters, see what SARFAESI case tracking means.
05Setting alerts so a date is not missed
Checking the portal by hand works for one or two matters. A bank, an asset reconstruction company or a borrower's counsel following many DRT and DRAT matters needs alerts instead.
- Diarise the next date the moment you see it, with a reminder several days ahead.
- Watch for order uploads, because an order can change the next step and the timeline for appeal.
- Use a tracking tool that pulls DRT and DRAT status and pushes hearing alerts, so no one is refreshing the portal daily.
For a buyer view of tools built for this, see the best DRT and DRAT case tracking software.
06Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
DRT and DRAT matters are spread across many tribunals, and a missed date in a recovery or SARFAESI challenge can be expensive. Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you can follow a DRT or DRAT matter by party or advocate and get the next date without opening the tribunal portal by hand, with results in under 5 seconds. You can also search 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, to see how tribunals and High Courts have decided similar SARFAESI and recovery questions. Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models.
Create a FREE Claw account to track your DRT and DRAT matters by party or advocate, and use case search across Indian courts to research recovery and SARFAESI rulings.
07Sources and further reading
- Department of Financial Services (DRTs and DRATs): financialservices.gov.in
- DRT online system (e-filing and case status): drt.gov.in
- India Code (Recovery of Debts Act 1993, SARFAESI Act 2002): indiacode.nic.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Portals and procedure can change, so confirm the current position and take advice from an advocate before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
How do I check a DRT case status online?
Use the DRT online system developed under the Department of Financial Services. Choose to search by case number, party name or advocate, then open the case record to see the current stage, the last order and the next hearing date. Confirm the current portal address before relying on it.
Can I search a DRT case by advocate name?
Yes, the DRT system generally lets you look up matters by advocate as well as by case number and party name. Searching by advocate helps a counsel or firm pull their whole board of DRT matters in one place.
What is the difference between an OA and an SA in the DRT?
An Original Application (OA) is filed by a bank or financial institution to recover a defaulted debt. A Securitisation Application (SA) is filed by a borrower under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, to challenge the bank's enforcement action against secured assets. Both are heard by the DRT.
What is the DRAT?
The Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) hears appeals from the orders of the Debts Recovery Tribunals. Both are established under the Recovery of Debts and Bankruptcy Act, 1993, and their case data appears on the DRT online system.
Where do DRT cases appear, since they are not on eCourts?
DRT and DRAT matters sit on the separate DRT online system under the Department of Financial Services, not on the eCourts portal used for the regular courts. This is one reason DRT matters are easy to miss if you only watch the court portals.
How do I avoid missing a DRT hearing date?
Diarise the next date as soon as you see it, set a reminder several days ahead, and watch for order uploads that change the timeline. If you follow many DRT and DRAT matters, a tracking tool that pulls status and pushes hearing alerts is more reliable than checking the portal by hand.