Summary:
Kochi, Mar 23 (PTI) Can a public interest litigation be entertained by the Kerala Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is a question being examined by the High Court here.
The high court decided to examine the issue after the Commission entertained a complaint filed against the Kerala Gramin Bank to stop it from recovering a loan amount after the death of the borrower.
While deciding to examine the issue, the high court put on hold further proceedings in the Commission in relation to the complaint and also made it clear that taking advantage of the interim order, "the bank shall not take any coercive steps for recovery of the debt".
The high court also directed the bank to make the legal representatives of the borrower a party in the matter.
While the primary reliefs sought in the complaint were general in nature, it also sought writing off of the loan availed by one Suresh Babu in 2017 as he had died in 2019.
Entertaining the complaint, the Commission first directed the General Manager, Kerala Gramin Bank, Malappuram to file a report but he did not do so.