PIL plea filed against pawnbrokers flouting the law
The Hindu
Petition insists that pledged jewellery must be sold only through public auction and excess amount must be paid back to pawners
A public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Madras High Court claiming that most pawnbrokers in the State do not adhere to the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Pawnbrokers Act of 1943 and also the statutory rules framed thereunder while auctioning the pledged jewellery that do not get redeemed by their pawners.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy on Tuesday granted four weeks to the government pleader to file a counter affidavit to the PIL petition preferred by G. Subramaniam of Pollachi. The petitioner had sought a direction to the government officials to act against errant pawnbrokers.
In his affidavit, the petitioner said as per Section 12 of the 1943 Act, pledged jewellery could be disposed of by pawnbrokers only by sale at a public auction. If the highest bid in the auction was the bid of the pawnbroker himself, it should not take effect unless it exceeded the sum due to him, including interest and other charges.
Further, when the pledged jewellery had been sold for a price that was more than the outstanding amount, the pawnbroker should pay the difference amount to the pawner within 30 days. If the amount got returned undelivered, the pawnbroker could keep the money with him for six months so that it could be paid any time on demand by the pawner.
If the pawner did not claim the difference amount within six months, it should be deposited with the State government as revenue deposit with due intimation to the licensing authority (Tahsildar) under the Act. The licensing authority, in turn, could deal with the money in accordance with the rules laid down by the State government.
The Section requires the pawnbrokers to maintain all records for a minimum of three years for the pawners to inspect them whenever required.
Further, Rule 12 of the Tamil Nadu Pawnbrokers Rules of 1943 requires the auctioneer to have been approved by the Commissioner of Police in Chennai and the Additional District Magistrates in other places. The auctioneers must inform tahsildars about the auctions which must take place in the presence of an officer not below the rank of deputy tahsildar.