When I was in GOI service, I had signed as a guarantor for one of my then colleagues for a personal loan of Rs. 1.5 lakh in 2005. He took the loan and was paying EMIs to the Bank till 2008 or so and stopped paying from 2009. The Bank reminded him several times with copies to me asking me to persuade him to pay up. The loanee did not respond/pay back and the Bank filed a case against him making me a co-defendant in 2010. While I had to attend the hearings, he never attended even a single hearing. Ultimately, I made a compromise and paid his outstanding dues of Rs. 40 K in the form of a DD to the Magistrate in presence of the Bank’s lawyer and my lawyer. Thus. the loan was liquidated by me. In Jan.2012, the Loanee was compulsorily retired from GOI due to similar frauds committed by the Loanee with at least 25 other Banks. Most of them approached the Court for recovery and some courts have passed orders directing the GOI office where the Loanee was working to remit all the Bank dues to the concerned Courts by withholding the Loanee’s retirement benefitson. This is going on and the Leave Encashment Wages of the Loanee has been fully remitted to the concerned Courts towards partial repayment of the Loanees’s dues to some of the Banks. The GPF, Gratuity and CGEGIS funds, of the Loanee, however, are withheld, but not remitted to the Courts as these retirement benefits can not be attached by the office under the law.
Now, I am trying to recover the amount of 40 K from the Loanee and an Order was passed in Jan. 2012 by the Judge directing the Loanee to pay me the amount with 9% interest. The Loanee did not bother. Now, my lawyer filed an Execution Suit on my behalf and the last hearing was held on 7th Sept. Upon my suggestion, my lawyer in his submission has prayed that the Loanee’s SB A/c may be frozen for recovery of my dues with cost and interest. The Judge will pass an Attachment Order of the Loanee’s property on 10th Sept. and next hearing will be on 21st Sept. All summons to the Loanee addressed by the Court are being returned as the Loanee does not live any more at the last address he gave to the office after being compulsorily retired. His whereabouts are not known.
My query is “Is the attachment of Loanee’s SB A/c (containing his pension which he is receiving regularly from office) legally admissible? How many more steps/hearings the Judge is likely to take before he can pass orders to freeze the said SB A/c? As I have already paid to my lawyer 15 K as fees so far, will it be a wise decision on my part to simply write off the 40K I paid to the Bank + 15K legal fees to avoid prolonged litigation?
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