Issued no order restraining banks from recovering car, gold loan during Covid-19, says HC

Bench says in response to a plea from financial institutions saying they were unable to recover dues from debtors due to an April order

The Punjab and Haryana high court has clarified that it has not issued any order restraining the banks or other financial institutions from recovering the amount on account of car loans and gold loans in view of the pandemic in the two states and Chandigarh.

The Punjab and Haryana high court.

The bench of chief justice RS Jha and Justice Arun Palli was responding to a plea from various financial institutions that due to an April 28 order, they were unable to recover the loans and other dues from the debtors who were deliberately taking advantage of the said clause.

Amicus curaie in the matter, senior advocate Anupam Gupta, had submitted that no specific instances of default have been mentioned by the banks in their applications. He had termed their applications “misconceived” and lacking “bona fide”.

The court clarified that it has not granted any stay on the recovery of car or gold loans. The object and purpose of passing the interim order was only to stay the auction proceedings in respect of residential accommodations so that occupants of such units were not rendered homeless and exposed to further miseries, it said.

The court was hearing a suo motu plea which was initiated on demand that certain measures be taken up so as to ensure that during the pandemic-triggered crisis, generation of litigation can be controlled for some time. It was initiated on April 28.

The court also said that it had not granted any kind of stay facilitating filing of appeals before the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) or any other tribunal/authority without making pre-deposits as mandated. This clarification too was issued in view of some pleas whether tribunals, especially RERA, had been restrained from asking for pre-deposits in accepting appeals by builders as mandated by law.

The high court has deferred hearing in the matter plea for August 31 to take a call on opening of courts, where functioning was restricted in view of second wave of pandemic in April. Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association had sought physical opening of courts in view of lesser prevalence of Covid-19 now.