High Court refuses to interfer in loan recovery by the banks

New Delhi, Mar 16 (UNI) The Delhi High Court has dismissed the petition of an industrialist seeking direction to quash the proceedings of State Bank of India(SBI) for recovery of a loan of Rs 55 lakh saying ''such interference would cause incalculable damage to the country's economy''.

A division bench of Chief Justice Markandeya Katju and Justice Madan B Lokur said about Rs 1,34,000 crore of loans were outstanding and if the court started interfering in the matter, the country's economy would be crippled.

Sahibabad-based industry Gargya Research Instructments, manufacturing electronics and electrical goods, had filed the appeal seeking a direction to SBI not to attach its mortgaged property for non-recovery of the outstanding loan.

The SBI initiated the move in pursuant of the ex-parte decree issued by the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) on April 22, 2002 for attachment of the industry's property towards recovery of loans amounting to Rs 55,72,585.

While disposing of the petition, the bench observed that ''the whole game of the petitioner was to drag on the litigation, so that he may not pay his debts.'' ''Unless repayment of the loans are done, the banks and other financial institutions cannot lend money to new businessmen for setting up new industrial units. Thus interfering with such recovery process does incalculable harm to the economy,'' the Court observed.

UNI PAT VD RN1826