Actor and producer Bandla Ganesh has taken his legal battle against Union Bank of India to the Supreme Court after losing the case in the Telangana High Court. The dispute is over one of Ganesh’s family properties that was mortgaged to the bank as security for a loan given to a company linked to his family. When the loan ran into trouble, the bank auctioned the property under the SARFAESI Act to recover its money.
However, Bandla Ganesh says the bank later accepted a One-Time Settlement (OTS) and officially confirmed that all its dues had been cleared. According to his petition, the bank recovered around Rs. 129 crores, including Rs. 71.44 crores paid through the settlement.
Ganesh’s argument is simple. If the bank has already recovered all its money, how can it still keep the auctioned property? He says the bank cannot enjoy both the settlement amount and the property at the same time. According to him, that is unfair and against the law.
Earlier, the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) agreed with Bandla Ganesh. It cancelled the auction, ordered that the buyer be refunded with interest, and directed that the property be returned to Ganesh’s family. But the Telangana High Court later reversed that order, forcing him to move the Supreme Court.
Now, the country’s highest court will decide whether the bank was right to retain the property even after accepting the settlement.
Meanwhile, Union Bank of India and the person who bought the property have already informed the Supreme Court that they will strongly oppose Bandla Ganesh’s plea.
The Supreme Court’s ruling could have implications beyond this case, as it may clarify whether a bank can continue to retain an auctioned property even after accepting a full One-Time Settlement and recovering its dues.
