Relevant or Relied Upon? Bombay High Court Clears Air on Disclosure of Information by Banks in Wilful Defaulter Proceedings

In Mr. Milind Patel v. Union Bank of India & Ors.[1] (“Judgment”), the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court (“Court”) has inter alia held that lenders/ banks seeking to invoke the Reserve Bank of India, Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters (“Master Circular”) for declaring entities and/ or persons as wilful defaulters, must supply all relevant materials to the noticee, which includes not only incriminating material but also exculpatory material. The Court therefore clarified that a bank is obligated to provide all relevant materials and not just information ‘referred to’ and ‘relied upon’ in the show-cause notice when conducting proceedings under the Master Circular.Continue Reading Relevant or Relied Upon? Bombay High Court Clears Air on Disclosure of Information by Banks in Wilful Defaulter Proceedings