SC lets manager off the hook, puts focus on Indian Bank in 35-year-old loan case
The Supreme Court acquitted ex-bank manager V Balakrishnan, revealing Indian Bank's failure to return ₹2.7 crore in excess auction proceeds to borrowers' heirs.
In a landmark decision that has shifted the focus of a 35-year-old loan case, the Supreme Court has acquitted a bank manager and now directed the bank to explain its handling of excess auction proceeds. V Balakrishnan, the branch manager of Indian Bank’s Anna Nagar branch in 1991, was cleared of allegations that he conspired to sanction loans to two borrowers who were supposedly domestic helpers of a retired Indian Overseas Bank officer.
The court found the prosecution's evidence fundamentally deficient, noting that the loans had been sanctioned by the Indian Bank’s Regional Office, and that the properties were later auctioned to recover the full loan amounts. Surprisingly, the court discovered that the bank had kept over ₹2.7 crore in surplus auction proceeds, instead of transferring it to the borrowers' legal heirs.
The bench expressed amazement that no attempt was made to locate the legal heirs and pass on the money. The Supreme Court has now impleaded the bank, ordering it to submit a report on the two loan accounts, the auction proceeds, and how the excess money was utilized. The court will further examine the status of the excess auction money on October 5, with the aim of ensuring its due disbursal.
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