Loan default: SC says big defaulters escape while farmers are penalised

April 12, 2016

New Delhi, Apr 12: The Supreme Court on Tuesday favoured making public the total amount of outstanding loans given by banks to various individuals and entities and running into lakhs of crores of rupees as per the information provided to it by RBI in a sealed cover.

"This information does make out a case. This is quite a substantial amount which is involved," a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice R Banumathi said.

However, this was opposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which said there was a confidentiality clause and the figure will have its own impact if it is disclosed.

"You are the watchdog, a regulator. On one hand people taking thousands of crores, running empires and turning insolvent and the matter goes on. On the other hand a farmer takes a few thousands of rupees and if he is unable to repay the loan, his property is attached," the SC said.

Noting that the issue was important, the bench said it will examine if the total amount of defaulting loans running into crores of rupees can be disclosed and asked the parties involved in the matter to frame various issues that could be debated.

The bench, which expanded the scope of the PIL, impleaded Ministry of Finance and Indian Bank's Association as parties posted the matter for further hearing on April 26.

The petition, which was filed in 2003 by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), had originally raised the issue of loans advanced to some companies by state-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). The plea had said that about Rs 40,000 crore of corporate debt was written off in 2015.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the RBI to provide a list of companies which are defaulters of bank loans of over Rs 500 crore while expressing serious concern over the rise in bad loans.

The apex court had also asked the RBI to provide within six weeks the list of companies whose loans have been restructured under corporate debt restructuring schemes.

The bench had expressed surprise that no concrete steps were taken for the recovery of loan from the defaulters.

While passing the order, the court had taken note of a report in a national daily about bad loans or non-performing assets (NPA) and the inability of the banks to recover them.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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