SUPREME COURT: RIGHT TO REDEEM MORTGAGE IS CONSTITUTIONAL AS WELL AS HUMAN RIGHT

The right to redeem a mortgage on repayment of a loan is a Constitutional right of a borrower and it is also a human right, which should not be fettered by unfair conditions, theSupreme Court stated last week in its judgment, Mathew Verghese vs M Amritha Kumar. The court was disposing of a complex case involving the Securitisation Act, the Debt Recovery Act, the Transfer of Property Act and other laws. It said that if there are differences in the amounts tendered and demanded by the lender, it could be decided later. The mortgaged
property should be returned first and the disputes could be settled later. The court asserted: "We wish to state that the endeavour of the secured creditor while resorting to any sale for realisation of dues of a mortgaged asset should be that the mortgagor is entitled to some lenience to ensure that her constitutional right to property is preserved rather than being deprived of." Though the loan should be recovered expeditiously, financial institutions and lenders should not behave unreasonably or in an arbitrary manner in flagrant violation of ordinary laws, the court warned.