In a first of its kind case, the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) here has directed the Managing Director (MD) of State Bank of Travancore to conduct an inquiry into alleged misuse of power by officials at the bank’s regional office at Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district in selling away an immovable property furnished as security for securing business loan.
Disposing of a case filed by the borrower against the “shady” sale, the presiding officer of the DRT, K. Hari Narayana, also directed the MD to initiate appropriate action against all the officials concerned besides submitting an action taken report to the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) in New Delhi for monitoring and scrutinising the action taken by the bank on the issue.
The presiding officer also made it clear that if the internal inquiry by the bank happened to reveal fudging of records or fabrication of documents by the bank officials or “throws shadow on their integrity or mischief or fraud,” then a compliant should be lodged either with the local police or the Central Bureau of Investigation as per government guidelines related to vigilance cases.
He also directed the Registrar of DRT to send a copy of the order by registered post to the bank’s MD based in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and also to the CVC.
“The present case is a classic example of how some of the Authorised Officers of the banks are dealing with the secured assets by misusing the enormous power at their command,” Mr. Hari Narayana observed in the order.
He went on to state: “It has to be noted that it is very rudimentary rather than elementary that for an action under the SARFAESI Act, issuance and service of notice under Section 13(2) and 13(4) is mandatory.
The Authorised Officer of the bank should have gone by the Act and not in contravention of the Act. There is a public duty cast upon all such officers to act fairly, transparently and with a sense of responsibility.”
He agreed with the borrower L. Noel Raj’s counsel S. Suresh that the sale of his property through auction was concocted and the officials had deviated purposefully from well laid down rules.
