Preetha Shaji has turned into an unlikely heroine for thousands of ordinary people facing bank recovery proceedings under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002. Her two-year fight against a system that appeared impossible to win from the start has ended with the homemaker from Edappally turning the tables on the high and the mighty.
“This is a victory for all the poor people in Kerala,” said a relieved Ms. Shaji after the High Court verdict on Tuesday. “It is the result of a long struggle in which a lot of good people stood by our side,” she said, pointing to the nearly 600 days of protest that involved fasts as well as protests with a funeral pyre ready by her side.
₹2 lakh loan
The developments that resulted in Tuesday’s court verdict go back to 1994 when Preetha’s husband Shaji, a driver, stood guarantee for a ₹2 lakh loan from the erstwhile Lord Krishna Bank, which was sold to Centurion Bank and was later merged with HDFC Bank.
In a plea filed before the Kerala High Court, Ms. Shaji said when the loan arrears mounted, Mr. Shaji sold four cents of land in 1997 to pay ₹1 lakh to the bank. He had expressed willingness to settle the loan by selling a part of his small holding. However, the submissions were set aside by the bank, which approached the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and went on to auction off the entire property for a sum of ₹37.80 lakh, whereas the actual price of the holding was much higher, claimed Ms. Shaji.
She said when the recovery team first came to her residence in 2017, the family had offered up to ₹60 lakh to end the proceedings. However, a deal could not be reached. Over the last 24 years, the bank dues for the original loan of ₹2 lakh had mounted to ₹2.70 crore. Ms. Shaji questioned the amount to be repaid as well as sought enquiry into possible collusion between recovery officials and land dealers to deprive the family of its rights.
Members of the Anti-Sarfaesi Movement on Tuesday gathered at the makeshift residence of Ms. Shaji at Pathadippalam to discuss the future course of action. Mr. Shaji and his family has been staying in a shed just outside their original home and property. The family has been barred from entering the property as it has already been sold by the bank.
‘Just the beginning’
P.J. Manuel of the Anti-Sarfaesi Movement said Tuesday’s court victory was just the beginning. Banks and financial institutions continued to exploit the poor, he said, as he called for doing away with “draconian” laws. It was, at present, possible for the poor to enter the trap created by banks and financial institutions, he said.
“It is a great judgement,” said C.R. Neelakandan, social activist, who has been at the forefront of the protest decrying the DRT proceedings against the family. “Justice has been delayed but not denied,” he said about the long battle Ms. Shaji had to undertake. It would give people more courage to fight an unjust system, he added.