Gujarat HC says 'unnecessary hype' given for SBI crop loan issue involving dues of 31 paise

The Gujarat High Court has observed that ''unnecessary hype is given due to YouTube for nothing'' in a case related to the State Bank of India (SBI) withholding the no-dues certificate with respect to a crop loan for non-payment of just 31 paise.

The matter pertains to seven individuals borrowing about Rs 3 lakh as a loan from the bank and a land parcel was given as the collateral.

Later, these borrowers sold the land parcel, on which the bank had charged, to two other individuals. However, the revenue authorities declined to give approval to the buyers for the land mutation application citing the absence of a no-dues certificate from the bank regarding the loan. The land parcel is in the Ahmedabad district.

Subsequently, the buyers moved the court on the issue.

The matter of the lender withholding the no-dues certificate for not paying just 31 paise also became a topic of discussion on social media recently.

Against this backdrop, the court, while hearing the petition filed by the buyers, observed that ''unnecessary hype is given due to YouTube for nothing''.

''Whatever it may be, you could have issued the no-dues certificate in the name of the borrowers...,'' Justice Bhargav D Karia said in a recent order.

SBI had submitted before the court that it could not issue the no-dues certificate due to letters received from the borrowers asking the lender not to issue or accept dues from anyone to clear the debt unless such requests were made by them. Such letters were sent by the borrowers to the bank in 2019 and 2020.

In the affidavit, SBI also said there was a ''confusion'' that had led to the non-issuance of the no-dues certificate to the original borrowers.

The bank also informed the court on May 2 that it issued the no-dues certificate on April 28 to the borrowers in connection with the land deal. The no-dues certificate was issued under the direction of the court.

Following SBI's submission on May 2, the court said, ''the petition stands disposed of as withdrawn. Notice is discharged.'' 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)