Harrassment

Greetings of the day.

The situation mentioned by you reflects the sorry state of affairs of our society. Harassing someone just because his/her relative has absconded after borrowing some money is just not done. However, it is what it is. Some things just cannot change overnight.

In such a case, the first advice to X would be to make the situation clear that he is in no way responsible for the acts of his/her relatives, and that he is not liable to return the amount payable to the money lenders. If the harassers still do not stop troubling him, he can file a complaint with the police stating harassment by the lenders, and if the harassment is of a grave nature, he can file a complaint u/s 503 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, stating that the lenders are engaging in criminal intimidation. Thereafter, the police authorities would take relevant action.

Hope this satisfies the query.

As per the academic situation you've posted, let me tell you that no person is liable to pay the amount that was borrowed by his/her known members (i.e anyone from family or friends), until the person has is the guarantor.

Basically, a guarantor is someone who agrees to be responsible for someone else's payment of debt if the latter makes a default on payments of loan. Moreover a guarantor is not a mere formality to help the borrower, as well as the guarantor is equally responsible for paying off the loan if in case the borrower fails to do so.

Therefore, if the person 'X' (as per your query) has not been a guarantor of his relative, he/she does not liable to pay the amount that his relative borrowed and fled away with. Thus, harassment done against him/her by the lenders is totally inappropriate and 'X' as an individual should approach the local police station and lodge a complaint against the lenders u/s 503 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 for Criminal Intimidation.

However, if the issue still persists then 'X' should engage a local prudent lawyer in order to take the matter before a court of law which has competent jurisdiction over the case.

Hope It Helps!

Regards
Kevin M. Paul

Thanks for your answers! Really means a lot to me.