NEW DELHI: In an extraordinary step, the Supreme Court has taken upon itself to deal with growing menace of money lenders with "Shylockian attitudes", giving people friendly loans and forcing them to pay back in double or end their lives having been left with no choice.
A bench of Justices C T Ravikumar and Sanjay Karol issued notice to the Centre and Delhi government by impleading them suo motu in a case filed by Bollywood film director and producer Raj Kumar Santoshi.
Senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra and advocate Durga Dutt, appearing for Santoshi, claimed one Prashant Malik promised to invest Rs two crore in a film produced by the petitioner.
Malik paid just Rs 35 lakh and subsequently used security checks given by the petitioner to make out a case under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
In the apex court, Santoshi challenged the validity of the Delhi High Court order declining to quash summons issued against him by the trial court.
Upon hearing the counsel, the bench decided to consider the menace of such money lending activity.
"We are mainly peeved and pained by instances where ordinary laymen take such loans and are at last driven to streets or driven to commit suicide, on account of lenders entertaining Shylockian attitudes. We will regulate such instances and rescue the hapless who happen to borrow loans and then are doomed in debts," the bench said.
The court justified its move by saying it has taken this extraordinary step in this matter taking note of a growing menace to the society.
"Lending money on interest without any license and on some security like cheque or title deeds of property partake a character not, in essence, different from ‘money lending business’," the bench said.
The bench pointed out it has been coming across cases where such so called friendly advances are in crores. In cases where huge amounts involved such as Rs 50 lakhs as also in crores, besides overreaching of the provisions under money lending laws, huge evasion of tax may also involve, it added.
"We may add that the Shylockian attitude sans shame continues in such instances and more often that not, despite repaying the amount actually advanced, the borrower is constrained to pay sometimes double the amount or more, towards interest. To fall outside the purview of money lending business laws, prudently (or cunningly?) some such lenders avoid continued transaction and give huge loans only for interest, intermittently," the bench said.
The court scheduled the matter for consideration on August 23.
