CUTTACK: Orissa high court has directed a nationalised bank in Cuttack to pay compensation of Rs 1 lakh to a person after it emerged the bank had not returned his mortgaged property papers 14 years after he had repaid the loan.
Justice S K Panigrahi issued the direction in a case filed by a 70-year-old on Sept 24, in which he claimed the original documents were not returned to him by the bank “despite his persistence, including frequent personal visits and countless letters.”
While seeking the court’s intervention, the elderly man had also demanded that the bank authorities pay Rs 5,000/day from Dec 24, 2010 onwards, the date of issuance of the “No Due Certificate”, for the delay in returning the mortgaged papers.
Describing the approach of the bank as “very casual,” Justice Panigrahi said in the Nov 8 order, “This court is of the view that the bank authorities are playing hide and seek with the petitioner. Admittedly, the loan account was closed by repayment, and the bank’s interest consequent to the mortgage of the property is protected fully. Therefore, the title deed deposited by the petitioner with the bank creating a mortgage is no more required.”
While ordering the bank to take prompt and effective measures to return the original or duplicate documents to the petitioner within one month, Justice Panigrahi stated, “In light of the petitioner’s advanced age and the significant difficulties he is facing in retrieving the documents despite no fault of his own, this court directs the bank to pay him Rs 1 lakh as compensation within 30 days from the date of presentation of a copy of this judgment.”
According to case records, the petitioner took a loan of Rs 72,000 from the nationalised bank in 1986. As he failed to pay the EMIs on time, the loan account was categorised as NPA. Subsequently, the bank settled the outstanding dues at Rs 1,06,337 under the one-time settlement scheme (OTS) on July 26, 2010. He paid the amount in due time.
Meanwhile, the bank initiated a loan recovery case before a local court in Cuttack, and the case was pending when the elderly man moved the high court.
The bank claimed they cannot return the mortgaged documents as the account was categorised as NPA and proceedings regarding it are ongoing before the court of the civil judge (sr div), first court, Cuttack.
However, Justice Panigrahi ruled, “Once the loan was resolved, there was no legal reason for the bank to withhold the return of the title deed (mortgaged documents), regardless of the pending litigation. Therefore, the refusal to return the document is unjustifiable.”
