HC faults SBI bank for wrongly taking possession of property in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court faulted the State Bank of India for issuing notice under the Sarfaesi Act to a flat-owner in Malakpet, who had never borrowed from them. The court observed that the banks were exploiting people.

The petitioner, Y. Vijayalakshmi, owned a flat in an apartment in Malakpet and received a notice dated December 6, 2022, under the Sarfaesi Act from the SBI stating that she had borrowed ₹4 lakhs in 2004 and had defaulted on repayments. The sum had now become ₹5 lakhs and the account had become a non-performing asset (NPA). The bank asked why it should not take action against her. She replied stating that she had not borrowed from the SBI.

In February, bank officials stuck a notice to her door stating that SBI was taking symbolic possession of the flat. The notices were not addressed to Vijayalakshmi but to some other person. The schedule of the property shown in both notices was different from the property owned by Vijayalakshmi.