Mumbai: Observing that it was nothing but an attempt to wriggle out of responsibilities, the Bombay High court has quashed a show notice issued by the State Minorities Commission against HDFC Bank officials on a complaint filed by a trustee of Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust alleging harassment and mental torture which resulted in the death of his father and hospital’s founder, Kishor Mehta.
The court also noted that just because the trustee, Rajesh Mehta, belonged to the Jain minority community, he cannot knock the doors of the Commission and get orders passed. It also added that the Commission had acted beyond its jurisdiction by issuing notice to the bank.
On Jul 22, Rajesh, projecting himself to be the permanent trustee of the trust, lodged a complaint with Vice Chairperson of Minority Commission alleging severe harassment and mental torture caused to him and his late father by the Senior Management and Recovery Department of HDFC Bank, allegedly in collusion with the erstwhile trustees of the hospital. He alleged that this harassment caused his father’s death on May 20.
It alleges that the bank was in collusion with certain erstwhile trustees of the hospital trust. It alleges that the bank was responsible for his father’s untimely death as the senior management had kept the sword of arrest hanging over him.
Based on the complaint, the minorities commission issued a show cause notices to the HDFC bank and its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in July, which the Bank challenged before the HC. It contended that the complaint was filed before the commission only to circumvent the recovery proceedings initiated by the bank.
Kishor Mehta and his company, M/s Beautiful Diamonds Ltd. (now Splendour Gems Ltd.) had taken a loan. In 2002, HDFC, a part of consortium of banks, initiated recovery proceedings as there was a default. In 2004, it was successful in getting the Recovery Certificate for an amount of Rs14.74 crores from Debts Recovery Tribunal.
The high court agreed and remarked that the complaint filed by Rajesh Mehta was “nothing but an attempt to short-circuit the procedure adopted by the HDFC bank against its borrowers and to face an action as a debtor, who was jointly and severally liable to pay an amount of Rs 14 crore”.
“On the pretext that since he (Rajesh Mehta) is a member of the Jain community, he cannot knock the doors of the Commission and get orders passed,” a bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said on September 18.
It added that if a liability of recovery of dues is fastened upon the complainant Rajesh Mehta then he cannot take benefit of him being a member of a minority community to wriggle out of the same.
The bench also added that the Commission had acted beyond its jurisdiction by issuing notice to the bank. The court also restrained the Commission from proceeding with the complaint filed by Rajesh Mehta by summoning the petitioners (bank).
In 2020, the recovery officer has directed civil imprisonment of Rajesh Mehta and Kishor Mehta which was confirmed by courts and an arrest warrant was also issued in 2023 against Rajesh Mehta.
Further, the court noted that Mehta family had filed 15 proceedings on the issue before various courts, including civil court and the Supreme Court. Mehta family was embroiled in litigation with the erstwhile trustees over control of the trust and the Lilavati hospital.
