Family directed to move out of house to recover loan given to another couple based on fake documents; HC stays the move.
Being punished for a fraud committed by someone else can be shocking. This is what happened to Habibunnisa and her family when Bank of India (BoI) asked them to vacate their house for recovering a home loan given to another couple, allegedly based on forged documents. Luckily for Habibunnisa’s family, the high court intervened and temporarily stayed the bank’s move.
Habibunnisa and her family purchased a house at Kuvempunagar in Guddadahalli, near Mysore Road, from Shameem Ahmed, a mechanic, and his wife Mehruniisa in March 2006. The couple allegedly created a fake gift deed and sold the property to Syed Badruddin Khadri, who in turn applied for a home loan from BoI’s Malleswaram branch.
The BoI, without verifying the sale deed or general power of attorney (GPA), sanctioned Khadri the loan of Rs16.34 lakh. Also, before sanctioning the loan, the bank’s officials wrongly inspected property No 21, instead of property No 20, which is the actual property, and recommended that the loan can be given to Khadri.
When Khadri defaulted, BoI sent notices to Habibunnisa as reminders to repay the loan. Embarrassed, her family replied to the notices, but there was no response. The bank then issued a public notification on February 2012, inviting clients to the property’s auction to be held on March 12, 2012, to recover the debt. It also informed Habibunnisa’s family through a notice that they are illegally staying in the house and asked them to vacate it immediately.
Shocked, the family approached Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) last month, but in vain. They then approached the high court, which admitted their plea and gave an interim stay order against the bank’s move after verifying documents.
Moosa Kaleemulla Khan, one of Habibunnisa’s family members, said the family was put to hardship and fear of losing the property due to the bank’s carelessness. Instead of taking action against the seller and the borrower, the bank wanted to recover its money by hook or crook. Had the bank verified the gift deed and GPA, the forgery could have come to light even before sanctioning the loan, Khan said.
“The stamp paper purchased on November 12, 2005, mentioned June 4, 1994, as the date of the gift deed; this clearly shows a fraud and the bank failed to check this. Moreover, neither the buyer nor the seller has original property documents,” he alleged.
As per records, the bank’s legal advisor, F Varis Ali, scrutinised the documents of property No. 21 instead of property No. 20. Moreover, the site inspection report stated that shops in the building were locked when the verifier visited the property and that he did not enter the house since it was closed, added Khan.
However, BoI officials said the documents are genuine and the inmates of the house do not have any right over the property. Savitha, an officer with BoI’s recovery division, the bank’s legal cell verified the documents and confirmed that they are genuine.
“The documents are mortgaged with the bank. The family has been staying as tenants and the owners could not get them vacated. Now, they are claiming ownership. They failed to elicit a positive response from DRT as they did not have any rightful ownership,” she said. “We will take necessary action to vacate the stay and proceed for the auction,” she added.
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