Default, omission of that which a man ought to do; neglect.
When a defendant neglects to take certain steps in an action, which are required by the rules of Court, the Court may thereupon give judgment against him by default. The defendant allows judgment by default either intentionally or through mistake or neglect; intentionally, where he has no merits, or where he does so according to a previous agreement with the plaintiff; through mistake, when he delivers a pleading so defective that it is treated as a nullity; and through neglect, when perhaps he has no merits, but omits to appear, plead, etc., within the time limited by the rules of the Court for that purpose. This is an implied confession of the action. See the titles JUDGMENT, APPEARANCE, and PLEADING.
It is defined as the non-performance of a duty, a failure to perform a legal duty or an omission to do something required, S. Sundaram Pillai v. V.R. Pattabiraman, (1985) 1 SCC 591: AIR 1985 SC 582: (1985) 2 SCR 643.
It means non-payment of any principal debt or interest thereon or any other amount payable by a borrower to any secured creditor consequent upon which the account of such borrower is classified as non-performing asset in the books of account of the secured creditor in accordance with the directions or guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank. [Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (54 of 2002), s. 2 (1) (j)]