Under Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, when a magistrate passes an order for possession of secured assets, what is the nature of the magistrate's function?

Section 14 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, vests a non-adjudicatory role in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or District Magistrate. Upon receiving an application with affidavit and evidence of default, the magistrate verifies that statutory procedures under Section 13 have been followed but cannot examine the debt's validity or merits of the dispute. The magistrate must pass orders within 30 days (extendable to 60 days), and per Section 14(3), these orders cannot be questioned in any court, though borrowers may challenge under Section 17 before the DRT.