News
Saturday, June 19, 2010
SC seeks details of loans written off since 1971* Court directs SBP to submit complete list of the people who managed to get their loans written off
By Masood Rehman
ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court bench on Friday directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to submit province-wise detail of loans written off by financial institutions across the country since 1971.
The bench consisting of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was conducting suo motu hearing on a news report regarding written off loans worth Rs 54 billion.
The court also sought a complete list of the people who managed to get their loans written off through the SBP since 1971 and directed authorities concerned to furbish the details of the findings of a committee constituted to investigate the writing off of loans.
The court observed that the loans had been written off in pursuance of a circular on the instructions of the SBP.
Earlier, the court was informed that loans worth Rs 256 billion were written off between 1971 and 2009.
The bench observed that cases of some loan defaulters were pending before various courts for adjudication, therefore, a comprehensive report should be submitted in this regard.
During the hearing, the bench directed commercial banks to provide details of the properties mortgaged against loans, and the status of all such properties in case the loans had been written off.
The court also asked the authorities to apprise it on the actions taken against defaulters under the Companies Ordinance and the number of cases pending before various banking courts for the recovery of bank loans, as well as the number of criminal cases filed against bad debts.
The bench said that distinction should be made between people who had succeeded in getting their loans written off and those who had taken loans for small businesses and construction of houses.
The SC issued a notice to the attorney general and advocate Khawaja Haris to assist the court and those who had filed human rights appeals in this regard.
The court also directed presidents of various high court bar associations to nominate lawyers who could appear before the high courts of their respective provinces in cases regarding written off bank loans. The bench observed that the details furnished by the SBP in the case were incomplete, therefore, it must do the needful by the next date of hearing.
In his remarks, the SC chief justice said loans written off illegally belonged to the public exchequer and must be spent on the welfare of the masses.
“We will be calling all those people [defaulters] to deposit loans, otherwise registration of criminal cases against them will be ordered through the attorney general,” he said. Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday urged Khawaja Haris to come forward in the public interest and pursue the case without charging professional fees.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk