The Delhi HC issued notices to RBI, the finance ministry and the DEA asking them to inform it about the steps taken to deal with the arm-twisting tactics adopted by certain banks with regard to their credit card operations.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Reserve Bank of India, the finance ministry and the Department of Economic Affairs asking them to inform it about the steps taken to deal with the arm-twisting tactics adopted by certain banks with regard to their credit card operations.
“It seems that normal remedy through the process of law seems inappropriate to the appellant who is therefore using extra-judicial methods for recovery of the dues,” observed a Bench of acting Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Kailash Gambhir on a petition by Chartered Bank seeking the quashing of an HC Judge order on a writ petition by Yogesh Sharma, a professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
An Associate Professor at JNU’s Centre for Historical Studies, Sharma had moved court seeking action against the bank that harassed his brother for recovery of dues. His brother Rakesh, a journalist, died in Mumbai two years ago.
Rakesh had some credit cards and also owed some money to the bank. Over the years, the original outstanding amount accrued huge charges.
The agents hired by the bank had been abusing Sharma on telephone, intimidating him and also threatening him of dire consequences if the deceased’s credit card amount was not cleared.
Some goons also went to Sharma’s JNU campus house after Diwali and on the pretext of giving sweets, woke up his parents and also misbehaved with them.
“To say the least, if this is allowed to happen, people’s faith in the rule of law will be shaken and more and more people will start using mafia power to achieve their objectives,” the Judges said.
“Whether it is a healthy sign for a growing economy like ours is a question which we have to answer in this appeal,” they added.
Castigating the banks and financial institutions for adopting such tactics, Judges said, “We also express our strong disapproval to the practices being adopted by these banks including the Standard Chartered Bank to recover their dues through illegitimate means.”
“We strongly deprecate such methods on the part of these institutions,” Judges said, adding, “Banks and financial institutions have every right to recover their dues but they are not only expected but duty bound to take recourse to law of the land for the recovery of their dues.”
Sharma had filed an FIR but the investigation remained incomplete as police said the bank was not cooperating with it.
He moved a writ petition impleading the RBI and the finance ministry as parties. The HC Judge ordered their deletion but directed the police to investigate the charges.
Bank’s counsel Sandeep Sethi and Sanjay Gupta challenged this order saying the HC Judge could not have entertained the writ petition.
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