LAHORE: Legal heirs of a Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) defaulter failed to hide behind the plea of an expired CNIC to deny availing finance, said sources.
According to details, a predecessor had availed finance facility for seasonal inputs and buffalos after pledging his several agricultural lands as security. However, he died during the pendency of the loans and his legal heirs committed default in the repayment of the same.
They maintained that the CNIC used for processing the loans had expired at the time of availing the finance facility. They contended that prudential regulations for corporate/commercial banks published by the State Bank of Pakistan mandate that withdrawals shall not be allowed until the account holder produces an attested copy of his CNIC and fulfils other formalities for activation of the account. Since the finance was availed against an expired CNIC, therefore, the finance facility was void and the ZTBL was not entitled to lodge any claim for such finance.
But the bank brushed aside the contention of the legal heirs, saying that they have not denied that their predecessor had repaid partial payment towards the loans in his life. It further added that Prudential Regulations relied upon by them pertained to the operation of a customer bank account, and not the loan. The bank management also stressed that the legal heirs of the deceased defaulter have tried to hide behind an expired CNIC but they could not deny that their predecessor had accepted the finance by his conduct.
According to the bank management, even if it is assumed that CNIC was expired, the matter was mere oversight and it could be cured by obtaining a valid copy of the same. But it could not bring down the entire finance, disbursed and availed during a valid transaction. The bank further pointed out that if there was no loan against the predecessor then there was neither any compulsion nor pressure on the deceased to make partial repayment in his life despite an expired CNIC. The relevant forums also favoured the bank point of view and directed the legal heirs to repay the loans.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024