SC reserves judgement in ICICI Bank's recovery case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on
Tuesday reserved its judgment on a request filed by ICICI Depository Financial Institution ambitious the
Delhi High Court's determination that virtually indicted it for abetting the suicide
of a young person who reportedly defaulted on payment of his recognition card dues. A bench headed by Justice Tarun Chatterjee reserved its verdict
while observing that the depository financial institution cannot go against basic human rights and usage unfair
trade patterns in their haste to accumulate money. Seeking expunging
of certain critical comments passed by the High Court, ICICI Depository Financial Institution had challenged
the High Court order that held that Banks like ICICI cannot usage coercive methods
by use musclemen to retrieve loans. ICICI depository financial institution contended that it
was within its rights to retrieve loans and followed the needed process fore
recovering dues. The High Court while directing the police force to
expedite probes into the self-destruction of Himanshu Dev Sharma, 34, allegedly
abetted by the strong arm tactics adopted by the Bank, passed strong
observations against Banks and fiscal establishments for employing musclemen to
recover their loans. On the ailment by the deceased's mother, the
High Court had also observed that "the proximate cause of decease of the deceased
that led him to perpetrate self-destruction was on business relationship of humiliation caused by the bank
people from where loan was taken by him." Sharma had committed
suicide in October 2005 by hanging himself at his house after he was allegedly
intimidated and humiliated in presence of his neighbors and household by recovery
agents employed by the depository financial institution for recovering a loan amount. After his
suicide, Sharma's female parent Shanti Devi had moved the Old Delhi High Court seeking an
investigation into the self-destruction and action against the force employed by the
bank. She contended that Sharma took the utmost measure as the bank
had employed musclemen who intimidated her boy and carried away his motorcycle
for defaulting on the payment of a loan installment.