BoB withdraws auction notice for Sunny Deol’s Juhu bungalow

According to the earlier sale notice issued on Sunday, the bank was to auction Sunny Villa, located at Gandhigram Road, to recover ₹55.99 crore the actor owes the lender along with interest and cost from December 26 last year minus the recovery of the amount that has been made

Mumbai: Citing ‘technical reasons’, the Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Monday withdrew its notice on the e-auction of actor and BJP MP Sunny Deol’s bungalow in the posh Juhu area after the actor reportedly failed to repay a loan of ₹56 crore.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol poses for a picture during a bridal ceremony ahead of the marriage of his son and actor Karan Deol, in Mumbai on June 16, 2023. (Photo by SUJIT JAISWAL / AFP) (AFP)

The corrigendum comes a day after the BoB issued the auction notification. “Sale notice in respect of Ajay Sing Deol alias Sunny Deol stands withdrawn due to technical reasons…” it read.

According to the earlier sale notice issued on Sunday, the bank was to auction Sunny Villa, located at Gandhigram Road, to recover ₹55.99 crore the actor owes the lender along with interest and cost from December 26 last year minus the recovery of the amount that has been made.

The bank, which said Deol mortgaged the property housing his office and a studio, published another public notice saying it was withdrawing the previous one issued under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act.

The withdrawal created a flutter in political circles. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wondered who triggered the technical reasons for the notice withdrawal. “Yesterday [Sunday] afternoon the nation got to know that Bank of Baroda had put up the Juhu residence of BJP MP Sunny Deol for e-auction since he has not paid up ₹56 crore owed to the Bank. This [Monday] morning, in less than 24 hours, the nation has got to know that the Bank of Baroda has withdrawn the auction notice due to ‘technical reasons’.”

Explaining the “technical reasons” behind the withdrawal of the August 20 notice, a spokesperson for the Bank of Baroda said “First, the total dues did not specify the exact quantum of dues to be recovered. Secondly, the sale notice was based on a symbolic possession of the property as per Rule 8(6) of The Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002. An application has been made for physical possession by the Bank with the chief metropolitan magistrate on August 1, 2023, which is pending permission. Since the unit is running as conveyed to us by the borrower, sale action will be initiated as per the provisions of the SARFAESI Act, once the physical possession is taken.”

The spokesperson indicated that Deol had communicated to the bank after the notice was published in Sunday newspapers and given an assurance that the dues will be settled soon. “In the meantime, the borrower has approached the bank for settling the dues as per the sale notice published on August 20, 2023, where the borrower/guarantors were notified that they are entitled to redeem the securities by paying the outstanding dues/costs/charges and expenses at any time before the sale is conducted. Accordingly, the sale notice is withdrawn as per the normal industry practice followed in other cases as well.”

A spokesperson for Deol, who represents Punjab’s Gurdaspur in Parliament and has been in the news for the success of his film Gadar 2, had indicated on Sunday evening that they were in the process of resolving this issue. “...it will be done soon. We request no further speculation on the same,” the spokesperson had said.

The first notice dated August 19 mentioned it is a statutory 30-day one under the SARFAESI. It added the borrowers and guarantors can redeem the securities by paying the outstanding dues before the sale is conducted.

The notice scheduled an e-auction of the 599.44 square metre property on September 25 and invited bids with a reserve price fixed at ₹51.43 crore. Interested buyers were to deposit earnest money of ₹5.14 crore. Bids could have been increased by ₹10 lakh during the auction, the notice said. It added that prospective buyers could inspect the property on September 14 morning.

Asked if the Bollywood star had communicated with the bank, a spokesperson for Sunny Deol said the bank had now withdrawn its notice, and the Bollywood star would decide the next course of action after his return from London.

The auction notice came days after Gadar-2, starring Deol and Ameesha Patel, had crossed more than ₹375 crore at the box office with the second consecutive Sunday in the theatres grossing nearly ₹40 crore, according to the film’s producers. The film, produced by Zee Studio and directed by Anil Sharma, had clocked ₹40 crore on August 13, the first Sunday after its release. On August 20, the box office collected another ₹38.90 crore taking the film’s gross closer towards a record ₹400 crore.