In a ruling that can help fast track the "in-house" proceedings initiated by banks or financial institutions to declare a person as a wilful defaulter for non-payment of dues, the Supreme Court has held that person has no "right" to be represented by a lawyer of his choosing.
To that end, a bench comprising Justices RF Nariman and Vineet Saran, when dealing with the question under a circular issued by the RBI, noted, "We are of the view that there is no right to be represented by a lawyer in the in-house proceedings contained in...the Revised Circular dated July 01, 2015, as it is clear that the events of wilful default as mentioned...would only relate to the individual facts of each case.
"What has typically to be discovered is whether a unit has defaulted in making its payment obligations even when it has the capacity to honour the said obligations; or that it has borrowed funds which are diverted for other purposes, or siphoned off funds," the top court said in its verdict last Wednesday.
It said that the question whether a default was "intentional, deliberate, and calculated" was the question of fact which can be dealt by the borrower or the lender and the assistance of lawyer was not needed.
(with Agency inputs)