Skip to main content

Banks can publish photos of wilful defaulters 

By refusing to interfere with the the judgement and order  dated 28/11/2013 in WPL No.2808/2013 of The HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY, the Hon'ble Supreme Court Vide order dated 14/7/14 in the SLP(C) NO. 37726 of 2013 has allowed the decision of the Hon'ble Bombay High Court in the matter of D.J. Exim vs SBI,  wherein the Hon'ble Bomaby HC allowed photographs of defaulters to be publish subject to certain conditions.


Bombay High Court on 28/11/2013 refused to stop publication of photographs of a defaulter firm in newspapers, saying that it was in larger public interest.

The division bench of Justices V M Kanade and M S Sonak refused to grant relief to the firm D J Exim and its directors






State Bank of India, on October 10, had issued the firm a letter warning that if it did not repay loan amount, photographs of the directors would be published in national newspapers.

The company moved the High Court against this saying no rule permits banks to publish photos.

"They cannot embarrass the defaulters like this. According to the rule only name and address can be published," the firm's lawyers argued.

However SBI counsel Aspi Chinoy pointed out that the company had defaulted on repayment of Rs 53 crores.

"This is not disputed. They are admitted defaulters. We are only stating this fact to the public," he argued, and said the bank "does not resort to such stringent measures" in each and every case.

Accepting this argument, High Court observed that publishing of photographs serves the purpose of creating awareness and cautioning prospective clients.

"In our view, there would be no impediment to publication of photos of the defaulters. There is no legal bar which expressly prohibits the bank from publishing photos.

"However, the decision to resort to such measures should be taken by a very senior level official not below the rank of General Manager of the bank. In this case, due process was followed and the decision cannot be faulted," the court said.

In the past, while the Bombay, Madras and Madhya Pradesh HCs had allowed banks to publish the names and photographs of defaulters, the Calcutta and Kerala HCs held such moves as unconstitutional and impermissible in law while ruling on some cases.






Articles referred: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/name-shame-banks-can-publish-photos-of-wilful-defaulters-says-sc/1270658






Article referred: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-28/news/44547088_1_defaulter-newspapers-high-court
















































Comments











Post a Comment



















Most viewed this month



















Valuation Report of Jewellery once made is effective for Four Assessment Years




























 The division Bench of the Delhi High Court in Pr.Commissioner of Wealth Tax vs. Raghu Hari Dalmia held that a valuation report made by a registered valuer once adopted shall be in effect for four assessment years unless an event has occurred whereby the value is increased or decreased.     The High Court made it clear that the event of “search” under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot compel the assessee to undertake a fresh valuation.    




















2 comments









Read more




























The recovery of vehicles by the financier not an offence - SC




























  Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 8907  of 2009   Anup Sarmah (Petitioner) Vs Bhola Nath Sharma & Ors.(Respondents)      The petitioner submitted that  respondents-financer had forcibly taken away the vehicle financed by them and  illegally deprived the petitioner from its lawful possession  and  thus,  committed  a crime. The complaint filed by the petitioner had been  entertained  by  the Judicial Magistrate (Ist Class), Gauhati (Assam) in Complaint Case  No.  608 of 2009, even directing the interim custody of the vehicle (Maruti  Zen)  be given to the petitioner vide order dated  17.3.2009.  The respondent on approaching the Guwahati High  Court against this order, the hon'ble court squashed the criminal  proceedings  pending   before  the  learned Magistrate.     After hearing both sides, the Hon'ble Supreme Court decided on 30th...




















7 comments









Read more




























Mere Agreement To Sell The Leased Property To Tenant Would Not Terminate Landlord-Tenant Relationship




























 In CIVIL APPEAL Nos. 1237­1238 OF 2019, Dr. H.K. Sharma vs Shri Ram Lal, the tenant had objected against the eviction suit filed by the landlord, claiming that the landlord-tenant relationship between them had ceased to exist by virtue of an agreement for sale entered between them and that he has already paid some money in advance based on the agreement. The tenant contented as the landlord-tenant relationship did not exist, the landlord cannot evict him.     The matter went through various forums and finally landed before the Supreme Court in appeal.     The Supreme Court referring to the judgment in Shah Mathuradas Maganlal & Co. vs. Nagappa Shankarappa Malage & Ors., held that in the instant case the lease agreement included no clauses on the fate of the tenancy. A fortiori, the parties did not intend to surrender the tenancy rights despite entering into an agreement of sale of the tenanted property. In other words, if the parties really intended to surrender their tenancy ...




















2 comments









Read more