In short. A decree orders the other side to pay. It doesn't move a rupee into your account. When the judgment debtor won't pay, you file an execution petition under Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the court can attach bank accounts, receivables and property, or in the right case order civil detention. The Supreme Court expects execution to be decided ordinarily within six months. This week, list every asset you know about, get the certified decree, and file in the court that passed it.
Is this your situation?
- The commercial court decreed your money months ago. Not a rupee has come.
- Since the judgment, the defendant's phone just rings and rings.
- A former employee of theirs tells you they're shifting stock to a cousin's firm and trying to sell the godown.
- Your decree is from a Delhi court, but everything they own seems to be in Noida or Gurugram.
- They've filed an appeal, and they're behaving as if that settles it, though no court has stayed anything.
- You got the decree years ago, filed it away, and never did anything with it.
- They offered instalments over WhatsApp, paid two, and went quiet.
What execution actually means
Execution is how a decree becomes money. A money decree is an order that the defendant, now called the judgment debtor, must pay. If the debtor pays, you're done. If not, you as decree holder file an execution petition, and the court uses its powers under Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) to recover the amount from what the debtor owns.
But the court won't go looking for assets. You have to tell it what to attach. A bank account. Money the debtor's customers owe it. Shares, vehicles, machinery, a flat, an office. Don't know what it has? You can ask the court to make the debtor disclose its assets on affidavit. Frankly, how good your asset information is decides how fast you get paid more than anything else on this page.
Execution has a name for being slow, and for years it earned it. In Rahul S. Shah v. Jinendra Kumar Gandhi (2021), the Supreme Court gave directions to speed things up, one of them being that execution should ordinarily be decided within six months of filing. In Periyammal v. V. Rajamani (2025) it went further and asked High Courts to make sure pending execution petitions were disposed of within six months. Judges in Delhi NCR know these directions well. Citing them when a matter starts drifting does help.
The law, in plain words
Sections 38 and 39, CPC
Either the court that passed the decree executes it, or a court it's sent to does. If the debtor's property lies outside the first court's local limits, that court sends the decree to the court where the property is. It can't attach property outside its own jurisdiction itself.
Section 51 and Order XXI Rule 30, CPC
A money decree can be executed by attaching and selling the debtor's property, by detention in civil prison, or both. Detention comes only after the debtor gets a chance to show cause, and only if the court is satisfied the debtor has the means to pay and is refusing or neglecting to, or is trying to abscond or get rid of property.
Order XXI Rules 41 and 46, CPC
Under Rule 41, the court can examine the debtor (or an officer of a debtor company) about its assets and order an affidavit of assets. Disobey, and it can mean civil detention for up to three months. Rule 46 lets the court attach debts owed to the debtor, bank balances included, by an order prohibiting payment to the debtor. Rules 46A to 46I let it call on the person who owes that money (the garnishee) to pay it into court instead.
Order XXI Rules 54 to 94, CPC
These cover attaching immovable property, selling it by public auction after a proclamation, the purchaser's deposits, and setting aside or confirming the sale.
Section 60, CPC
Some things can't be attached at all. Necessary clothing and bedding, an artisan's tools, part of a person's salary, provident fund balances. Against a company this rarely comes up. Against an individual proprietor, it can.
Article 136, Limitation Act, 1963
You have 12 years from when a money decree becomes enforceable to execute it. Apply more than two years after the decree, though, and Order XXI Rule 22 requires the court to give the debtor notice to show cause before execution goes ahead.
Find the assets before you file
Start with your own case file. The debtor's bank details are usually sitting on its invoices, cheques, emails and payment advices filed in the suit. Its customers show up in its GST invoices or its letters. If you supplied to it, you probably know where the factory, the warehouse and the office are, and who it sells to. Write all of that down before you meet your advocate. All of it.
Public records fill in more. For a company, the Registrar of Companies filings give you the registered office, the directors, charges created in favour of banks, and annual financial statements, which list receivables, fixed assets and investments. GST registration shows principal and additional places of business. You can check who owns property in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh or Haryana through the local sub-registrar's records, though those searches are slow and not always complete.
Still not enough? At the first hearing, ask the court to direct the debtor to file an affidavit of assets under Order XXI Rule 41. Rahul S. Shah encourages executing courts to do exactly that. In execution matters that come to Advocate B.K. Singh, the problem is usually not the law. It's a petition filed with one stale bank account and nothing else, which produces a prohibitory order against an account holding Rs 3,000. A short asset note, even part guesswork, changes that picture.
Which court you file in
File in the court that passed the decree. If a District Judge (Commercial Court) in Delhi passed it, you go back to that same court in that same district complex. Our page on Delhi's district commercial courts explains how they list matters. If the decree came from the Delhi High Court's Commercial Division, the execution petition goes on the High Court's original side.
Assets somewhere else? Then you ask that court to transfer the decree under Section 39. A Delhi decree against a debtor with a factory in Noida can go to the court at Gautam Buddh Nagar. One with assets in Gurugram can go to the Gurugram court. Local practice is on our pages for the Noida commercial court and the Gurugram commercial court. The court receiving the decree then executes it as though it had passed it.
Accounts at bank branches inside the court's area are attached directly by the court that passed the decree. Where the branch is in another city, courts haven't always agreed on whether the decree must be transferred first, so check this before filing (in practice, banks usually act on prohibitory orders through a central or nodal office). Immovable property is simpler. It has to be attached and sold through the court where it sits. If assets are spread over Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, you may run execution in more than one court at once. Just be careful not to recover twice.
Freezing bank accounts and catching money owed to the debtor
For most commercial decree holders, the quickest tool is a prohibitory order under Order XXI Rule 46. The court tells the bank not to allow withdrawals from the debtor's account up to the decretal amount. The moment the bank gets the order, the balance is frozen to that extent. Later the court can direct the bank to send the frozen amount to court, and it's paid out to you from there.
Receivables work the same way. If the debtor's own customers owe it money, the court can direct those customers (the garnishees) to stop paying the debtor and deposit the money in court instead. Each garnishee gets notice and can deny owing anything. If you're a supplier who knows the debtor's main buyers, this is often better than chasing bank balances. Debtors tend to empty their accounts the minute they see a decree coming.
Speed matters here. Plenty of debtors start moving money between accounts the day execution is filed. Ask for the prohibitory order at the first hearing, along with an order making the debtor disclose its other accounts, and serve the bank the same day the order goes up on the court website. If you're worried about assets vanishing even before the decree, the remedy is attachment before judgment under Order XXXVIII Rule 5. That has to be asked for while the suit is still pending.
Joint accounts, escrow accounts and accounts holding someone else's money (customer advances held in trust, say) raise questions. The bank may report them back to the court rather than freeze them. A company's current account is the cleanest target. A proprietor's account in his own name can be attached for a decree against his proprietorship, because in law the man and the business are the same person. Partnerships are different. Under Order XXI Rule 50, a decree against a firm is executed against the firm's property and against partners who appeared or were served as partners. Going after any other partner needs the court's leave.
Attaching and selling property
Immovable property is attached by an order forbidding the debtor from transferring or charging it. The order is proclaimed at the property and in court, and it can be registered with the sub-registrar. After attachment, the court can order a public auction. A proclamation of sale is prepared, setting out the property, known encumbrances and the amount due, and then published. The court fixes a reserve price, usually after a valuation.
At the auction, the highest bidder pays 25 percent of the price on the spot and the rest within 15 days. Even then, the debtor can stop the sale. Under Order XXI Rule 89, it can deposit the decretal amount plus 5 percent of the price for the purchaser within 60 days of the sale. A sale can also be attacked for material irregularity or fraud that caused substantial injury. If no such challenge succeeds, the court confirms the sale and issues a sale certificate.
Property already mortgaged to a bank is attached subject to that mortgage. The bank's charge comes first. A bank enforcing its security under the SARFAESI Act, or before a Debts Recovery Tribunal, may sell the asset before you get anywhere near it, and that side is covered on drtadvocates.com. So check the charges registered against a property before you put time into selling it. A small unencumbered plot is often worth more to a decree holder than a big factory mortgaged to three banks.
Civil detention, and the affidavit of assets
The court can order the debtor detained in civil prison. For decrees the size commercial courts deal with, that's up to three months. First comes a notice under Order XXI Rule 37 to show cause. Detention follows only if the court finds the debtor has the means to pay (or has had them since the decree) and is refusing or neglecting to, or is likely to abscond, or has disposed of property in bad faith. You, as decree holder, pay a subsistence allowance during detention. And detention doesn't wipe out the debt.
Courts use detention sparingly. They're right to. What actually moves most debtors is the notice itself, combined with an order to file a sworn affidavit of assets. File a false affidavit and the debtor risks perjury proceedings. Refuse, and it can be detained under Rule 41. With a company, the officers who can be examined are its directors and principal officers. But the decree is against the company, not them personally.
That last point disappoints a lot of people. Directors and shareholders aren't personally liable for a company's decree unless they were parties to the suit, gave personal guarantees, or the court finds the company was used as a device to defraud. If a company owes you money and has been emptied out, talk early about whether any of those exceptions fit.
Executing a money decree, step by step
This is how a commercial money decree is usually executed. Steps 4 and 5 often happen at the same hearing.
Check the decree and where it stands
Get a certified copy of the decree and confirm no appeal court has stayed it. An appeal pending without a stay doesn't stop you. Work out what's due, with interest to date at the decree rate.
Prepare an asset note
List every bank account, customer, property, vehicle and investment you know of, with whatever detail you've got. Add the debtor's GST number, company identification number and directors' names.
File the execution petition
The petition under Order XXI Rule 11 sets out the decree, the amount due, payments received and how you want it executed, such as attachment of a named account or property. It's backed by an affidavit and the certified decree.
Ask for attachment and disclosure straight away
At the first hearing, ask for prohibitory orders on known accounts and receivables, and for a direction that the debtor file an affidavit of assets. Serve banks and garnishees immediately. Same day, if you can.
Notice to the debtor
The court issues notice to the debtor. It's compulsory if the decree is more than two years old. The debtor may pay, offer instalments or file objections.
Deal with objections
The debtor's objections are decided under Section 47. Third parties claiming the attached property come in under Order XXI Rule 58. Press the court to decide them quickly, as Rahul S. Shah directs.
Collect the money
Frozen balances and garnishee deposits are paid into court and released to you on application. If property is sold, you're paid from the proceeds after confirmation.
Record full satisfaction
Once you're paid, the court records satisfaction of the decree. If something's still outstanding, move on to other assets or transfer the decree to another court.
These timelines are typical ranges, not promises. They turn on what the debtor owns, what objections it raises and how heavy the court's board is. Our guide on how to execute a decree covers the same steps in more detail if this is your first decree.
Time and cost at each stage
| Stage | Court fee and other costs | How long it usually takes |
|---|---|---|
| Certified copy of the decree | Copying charges, normally small | Anything from a few days to a fortnight |
| Filing the execution petition | A small fixed court fee in most states, plus process fee; check the current schedule for Delhi, UP or Haryana | Any time within 12 years; after two years, the debtor must get notice first |
| Bank attachment and garnishee orders | Process fee to serve each bank or garnishee | Often at the first or second hearing, a few weeks after filing |
| Transferring the decree to another court | A small fee plus copying charges | A few weeks |
| Affidavit of assets and examining the debtor | Only the process fee | One to three months |
| Attaching and selling immovable property | Publication, valuation and proclamation costs, which the decree holder pays first and gets back as costs of execution | Six months to well over a year, depending on objections |
| Civil detention | Subsistence allowance for the detention period, paid by the decree holder | Show cause notice and inquiry over one to three months |
| The overall target | Execution costs are generally added to what you can recover | Ordinarily within six months of filing (Rahul S. Shah, 2021), though often longer once objections come in |
What to bring for the execution petition
- Certified copy of the decree, and the judgment
- Your working of the amount due: principal, decree interest up to today and costs, minus anything paid
- The debtor's bank details: bank, branch, and the account number if you have it
- Names and addresses of customers who owe the debtor money, with any of their invoices you've got
- Addresses of the debtor's property, and title details if you know them
- The debtor's GST number, company identification number, PAN if known, and the directors' names
- The debtor's appeal, if it's filed one, and any stay order
- Proof of part payments or any settlement since the decree
- Board resolution or authority letter if you're a company or a firm
- Vakalatnama in favour of the advocate filing the execution
Objections, appeals and the other ways debtors dig in
Debtors usually fight execution in four ways. They object under Section 47 that the decree can't be executed or has already been satisfied. A relative or group company pops up under Order XXI Rule 58 claiming the attached property is theirs. They apply to set aside the decree itself. Or they appeal and ask for a stay. Rahul S. Shah tells executing courts not to let any of this turn into a second trial. Our page on objections to execution and attachment explains how these get decided, from both sides.
If the debtor appeals, execution carries on unless the appeal court stays it, and a stay on a money decree normally comes with a deposit order. That deposit is often your quickest route to payment, since you may be allowed to withdraw it on security. How those orders are made is on our commercial appeals page. If the debtor says it never knew about the suit and applies to set aside an ex parte decree, look at setting aside an ex parte decree for what the court will weigh.
If the debtor company is admitted into insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the Section 14 moratorium stops execution against it. Your decree turns into a claim you file with the resolution professional, and what you get depends on the insolvency process (we cover that on ncltlawyers.in). Debtors sometimes wave the insolvency threat around as a tactic. Check whether an application has actually been admitted before you stop.
Where execution usually goes wrong
- Waiting too long. People sit for a year hoping the debtor will pay on its own. By then the accounts are empty and the property's been sold.
- Thin asset information. Name one old bank account and you'll get one useless order. Bring every lead you've got, even the shaky ones.
- Informal instalments. Money paid outside court has to be certified to the court under Order XXI Rule 2. If it isn't, you'll end up fighting over what's still due.
- Ignoring the mortgage. Attaching a property that's fully charged to a bank gets you very little. Look at the charges first.
- Assuming the directors will pay. A decree against the company isn't a decree against its directors, unless they were parties or guarantors.
- Letting objections drift. Every adjournment on an objection costs months. Push for a time-bound decision and cite the Supreme Court's six-month direction.
How it differs for suppliers, service firms, lenders, startups and MSMEs
Suppliers usually have the best asset information. They've been to the debtor's premises, dealt with its staff, and know its other vendors. Their strongest tool is often a garnishee order against the debtor's own customers. Service firms and IT companies see less of the debtor's business, so they lean on bank attachment and the affidavit of assets.
Lenders who made inter-corporate deposits or trade advances often hold post-dated cheques, guarantees or pledged shares. If a director gave a personal guarantee and was made a defendant, the decree can be executed against the director's own assets too. Micro and small suppliers who got interest at the MSMED Act rate should work it out carefully. It compounds with monthly rests, and the figure climbs fast. Our guide on interest in recovery suits explains how decree interest is worked out.
A startup that beats a large company usually finds execution easier. Big debtors have bank accounts you can find, and they'd rather pay than have them frozen. The reverse is much harder: a large company chasing a small trader who has pulled down his shutters. Sometimes the honest answer there is that execution will cost more than it brings back. The CPC is the same across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Court fee schedules, process service and auction practice change from district to district.
An invented example: the customers who paid into court
This is a made-up example. In January 2026, a Faridabad maker of auto components got a decree for Rs 62 lakh with interest against a Delhi distributor from the commercial court at Tis Hazari. The distributor didn't appeal. It didn't pay either. When the manufacturer filed execution in April 2026, it named two bank accounts it knew of from old cheques, and three workshops in Delhi and Gurugram that bought parts from the distributor.
At the first hearing, the court sent prohibitory orders to both banks and garnishee notices to the three workshops, and told the distributor to file an affidavit of assets. One account had Rs 4 lakh in it. The other had been closed. Two workshops admitted owing the distributor about Rs 19 lakh between them and were told to deposit it in court. The third said it owed nothing.
The distributor's affidavit showed a shop in Karol Bagh owned by the proprietor. Facing attachment of the shop, the distributor offered the balance in three instalments, recorded before the court with a default clause. The decree was satisfied by September 2026. It's just an illustration. In other cases debtors object, there's less to attach, and execution drags on far longer.
Settling in execution, and what to do this week
A lot of execution cases settle once the debtor sees its accounts frozen or its shop attached. If you agree to instalments, have the terms recorded before the executing court, with a clear consequence on default, such as attachment reviving immediately. Don't release any attachment until the money's in hand or a court order protects you. And certify every payment you receive to the court, so the record matches what's actually happened.
This week, get the certified decree, work out what's due with interest, and write a one-page note of every asset lead you have. If you'd like the decree and your asset information checked before you file, or want a view on where execution will move fastest, send them to Advocate B.K. Singh's team through our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time limit to file execution of a decree?
Article 136 of the Limitation Act, 1963 gives you twelve years from when the decree becomes enforceable. Go in more than two years after the decree and the court must first give the debtor notice to show cause. Don't wait, though. Assets have a way of disappearing.
How long does execution of a decree take?
In Rahul S. Shah v. Jinendra Kumar Gandhi (2021), the Supreme Court said execution should ordinarily be decided within six months of filing. Bank attachments often bite within weeks. Property sales, and cases where objections are filed, can run a year or more.
Can the court freeze the debtor's bank account?
Yes. A prohibitory order under Order XXI Rule 46 CPC tells the bank to block withdrawals up to the decretal amount, and the court can later have the frozen sum sent to it. You'll need to give the court the bank details.
What if I don't know what assets the debtor has?
Ask the court to order an affidavit of assets under Order XXI Rule 41 and to examine the debtor or its officers. Company filings and GST records help too. Refusing to comply can land the debtor in civil detention, and a false affidavit invites perjury proceedings.
Can I recover a company's decree from its directors?
Usually not. A decree against a company is enforced against the company's assets. Directors are liable only if they were parties to the suit, gave personal guarantees, or the court finds the company was used to commit fraud.
My decree is from Delhi but the debtor's property is in Noida. What do I do?
Ask the Delhi court to transfer the decree under Section 39 CPC to the court at Gautam Buddh Nagar, which then attaches and sells the property. Accounts at Delhi branches can still be attached through the Delhi court.
Does an appeal by the debtor stop execution?
Only if the appeal court stays the decree. For money decrees, a stay usually depends on the debtor depositing the decretal amount or giving security. Until that happens, execution goes on.
Can the debtor be sent to jail for not paying a decree?
The court can order civil detention, up to three months for decrees of commercial size. But only after a show cause notice, and only on a finding that the debtor can pay and is refusing. It's not jail for a crime, and the debt survives it.