Venkata Ramana Murthy Kuchibhotla v. 1. Union of lndia

3. AXIS BANK, Rep by its Chief Manager -Ground- Floor, Sriven Mall, .Miygp,lr Rd, J P ttagar, bG-employees Colony, Mayuri Nagar, Miyapur, Hyderabad, Telangana 500049

4. BAJAJ FINANCE Ltd, Rep. by its Chief Manager, 6th Floor, Bajaj Finsery Corporate Office, Pune-Ah'medhagar Road, Viman Nagar, Pune, Maharastra - 411014.

5. HDFC BANK Ltd, Rep by its Chief Manager PN 26, 33/Aand34/B-'-Gr Flr' -Miyapur, Hyderabad - 500049. Delta House, Sy tio 6d, Aliwyn Cross Road

6. Kotak Mahindra bank Ltd, Rep, by its chief Manager Ground Floor - Office No 103, Premier Building, plot ilo iJ5,36,41 an{42 Survey^No^76, Madhapur Village, Senilingampa'[y, Mandal, Hyderabad, Telangana 500081.

7. PayU Buildin 400 05 Fi s 2 nance lndia Private Limited, Rep by its Chief Manager Empresa Officer No. 102 Second Road, Khai West, Mumbai, Maharshtra -

8. SBI Cards and Payments Services Limited (SBl Card)., Rep.-by i!.s Chief Manager, DLF Cyber City, Tower C, Block 2, Building 3 DLF lnfinity Towers, 12th Floor, Gurugram, HR- 122002.

9. NDX P2P Private Limited, Rep by its Chief Manager 102, Lachiram Plaza, C Wing, GAI(/ Marg, Goregaon iE), Mumbai, Maharbshtra 400063.

10. INDUSIND Bank Limited, Rep by its Chief Manager 1-248, Upper Ground Floor, Miyapur Cross Roads, Bolldram, Telangana 500052.

11.FlNc FRttiNDS.PR|VATE, L|MIED,. Rep. .py its chief Manager No. 1t2, noijl"il.nr.v. 2nd Laritha Nir;ava. 4th- cross, aoop'Janlra Stage, Ber:galuru, f"rnaiJi<a-S-O'OOb+ ' -Raiiviav-cidJj' ...RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of lndia praying that in the circumstances st:lted in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pteased to issue an appropriate Writ, Order, or Direction, more particularly in the nature of Writ of Mandamus, declaring the action of respondent Nos. 3 to 11 in attempting to recover amounts; from the petitioner in an arbitrary, illegal, and high-handed manner without 'Following the due process of law and in btatant violation of the Reserve Bank ol lndia circular dated 12.08.2022 bearing No. RBI/2 022-23t 1og, DOR'ORG'REC.(i5/21.04.15812022-23, and further dectaring the inaction of respondent No. !l in enforcing the said Circular as unconstitutionat and violative of Articles 14, 19, ;lnd 21 of the Constitution of lndia, and consequenfly direct the respondent authorities to refrain from undertaking any coercive or unla6ul recovery measures against the petitioner and to strictty comply with the due process of law and the aforesaid Circutar in all recovery proceedings, and further restrain respondent Nos. 3 to 11, their agents, recovery agents, executives, managers, or any person acting on their behalf from engaging in any acts of intimidation, harassment, humiliation, or intrusion into the privacy of the petitioner or his family mentbers, referees or friends, including persistent or anonymous calls, threatening mes:iages, or physical visits to the petitioner's premises, and further direct respondent No. 2 to enforce the said RBI Circutar in letter and spirit and to initiate appropriate and stringent action against the errant officials of respondent Nos' 3 to 11 for violating legal norms, and pending disposat of the writ petition, direct the resporrdent Nos. 3 to 11 not to resort to any coercive measures against the petitioner ex{lept through lawful means and in strict adherence to the Circular dated 12.08.202?_ & Counset for the Petitioner : SMT. THAKUR MANASWINI SINGH, REPRESENTING FOR SRI BONTHU LOKESH PHANINDRA REDDY Gounsel for the Respondent No.l : SRI ANGOTHU NEHRU, Deputy Solicitor General of lndia Counsel for the Respondent No. 10 : SRI G. PRAVEEN KUMAR, SC FOR INDUSIND BANK Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 2 to 9 & 11 : --- The Court made the following: ORDER , -,1i] THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAI(A WRIT f\T ORDER: Heard Smt 'Ihakur Manaswini Singh, learned counsel representing; Sri Bonthu Lokesh Phanindra Reddy, learned counsel for petitiont:r, Sri Angothu Nehru, learned Standing Counsel for Central Government for respondent No.1 and Sri G.Praveen Kumar, learned Standing counsel for INDUSIND Bank. Perused the record.

2. when the matter is taken up for hearing, learned counsel for petitioner submitted that the issue raised in this Writ Petition is squarely covered by the order passed by this Court in w.P.No.S2oo of 2024, dated 25.a4.2o24 and therefore, the s€rme order may be passed in this writ petition as well. The operative portion of the said order reads as under: \ \ \ \ "8. For the aforesaid reasons and as the procedure aclopted by the respondent Nos.4 to T for fecovery of loan amount from the petitioner, ararountb to violation of the rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 2l of the Constitution of India, this Court deems it appropriate to direct the respondents, to ensure that the agents engaged by them for recovery of the loan amounts, shall strictly follow the guidelines and instructions issued by the Reserve Bank of Inciia and also the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in ICICI Bank Ltd Vs. Prakash Kaur's case (1 supra).and ICICI Bank Vs. Shanti Devi Sharma's case (2 supra). 9. tfie above said direction, the writ I is disposed of." t I ? 2 \

3. Learned Standing Counsel d.oes not dispute the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioner. In terms of the ord.er passed by this court in w.P.No.S2OO of

4. 2024, dated 25.04.2024, arrd for the reasons alike, this writ petition is disposed of directing the respofld.ent authorities to scrupulously follow the guidelines/instructions in the RBI Circular dated 12.08.2022, arrd. also the judgments of Hon'lcle Supreme Court in ICICI Bank Ltd vs. Prakash Kaur and othersl and IcIcI Bank vs. Shanti Devi Sharma and others2. Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed. To, SD/. S SISTANT TRAR //TRUE COPYII OFFICER

1. Secretary, Union of India, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi 2. Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India (RBl), 6, Sansad Marg, New Delhi - 110001

3. Chief Manager, AXIS BANK, Ground Floor, Sriven Mall, Miyapur Rd, J P Nagar, CG Employees Colony, Mayuri Nagar, Miyapur, Hyderabad, Telangana 500049

4. Chief Manager, BAJAJ FINANCE Ltd, 6th Floor, Bajaj Finsery Corporate Office, Pune-Ahmednagar Road, Viman Nagar, Pune, Maharastra - 411014. 5. Chief Manager, HDFC BANK Ltd, PN 26,33lAand34/B, Gr Flr, Delta House, Sy No 68, Allwyn Cross Road Miyapur, Hyderabad - 500049. t 72007)\scc711 z 12008) 7 SCC532 ----- -__ -- -- -:_, _l (. \ )

6. Chief Manager, Kotak Mqhlndla bank Ltd,_Ground t-loor - Ottlce No 1u5, premier Br.rilding, ptoi trto 35,36,4i an! !2 Survey^No 76, Madhapur Village, Senilinganrpally].Mandal, Hyderabad, Telangana 500081 / ^/

7. Chief Manager, Pay U- Finance lndia Private Limited, Ffn,"9a Building, Omcertlo. i"OZ'seccind Road, KharWest, Mumbai, Maharshtra - 400 052 8. Chief Marager, SBt Cards and Payments-Services Limitgd (SBl Card)',-Otf CVOI1 Citf,"iower C, Block 2, BdiEing 3 DLF lnfinity Towers, 12th Floor, Gurugram, HR - 122002.

9. Chief Manager, NDX P2P Private Limited, 102, Lachiram Plaza, C Wing, GAt(/ Marg]Goregaon (E), Mumbai, Maharashtra 400063.

10.Chief Manager, INDUSIND Bank Limited, -1-278, Upper Ground Floor, Miyapur C;ross Roads, Bollaram, Telangana 500052-

11.Chief Manager, FINC FRIENDS PRIVATE LIMITED, \o..112, Lalitha Nilaya, 4th C.ss,, Eoopsandra Railway Cross Road, R.M.V. 2nd Stage, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560094

12.OneCC to SRI BONTHU LOKESH PHANINDRA REDDY, Advocate IOPUCI 13. One CC, to SRI ANGOTHU NEHRU, Deputy Solicitor General of lndia Advocate [OPUC]

14.ONE CC I:O SRt G. PRAVEEN KUMAR, SC FOR INDUSIND BANK 15.Two CD tlopies PVL PSK HIGH COUR =i I 2 t09t2025 .t _f ( C) * 0I rIB 2020 * ORDER WP.No.26067 of 2025 DISPOSING OF THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS \