'This is nothing but harassment': Gujarat HC raps SBI for denying 'no-dues' certificate to farmer for just 31 paise

"This is too much. A nationalised bank says that a no-dues certificate will not be issued just for 31 paise," the Gujarat High Court judge said.

Ahmedabad: In yet another instance of banks giving bad treatment to their customers, the Gujarat High Court has slammed the State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, for not issuing a no-dues certificate to a farmer for a nominal pending amount of just 31 paise.

Justice Bhargav Karia, while hearing a petition moved by two farmers seeking relief from the high court, expressed sheer displeasure over the bank withholding the no-dues certificate, which was needed for clearing a land deal.

“This was nothing but harassment,” Justice Karia said while hearing the matter, according to news agency PTI. "This is too much. A nationalised bank says that a no-dues certificate will not be issued just for 31 paise," the judge said.

The Gujarat High Court judge made these observations while responding to an appeal by the petitioners - Rakesh Verma and Manoj Verma – who had purchased a piece of land in Khoraj village near Ahmedabad city from farmer Shamjibhai and his family in 2020.

Since Shamjibhai had sold the land to the petitioners before repaying a crop loan of Rs 3 lakh, which he had taken from the SBI, the petitioners (who are new owners of the land) could not enter their names in the revenue records because of the bank's pending charge on the land parcel.