The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a complaint by a trustee of Lilavati Hospital, stating that allegations of harassment by HDFC Bank were unfounded and an attempt to avoid paying financial dues. The court quashed a show cause notice issued to HDFC Bank’s CEO by the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission, which had been called into question following the trustee’s complaint.
Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande ruled that the complaint filed by Rajesh Mehta, a permanent trustee of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, was a strategic move to escape liability. The trustee had alleged severe harassment by the bank’s senior management and recovery department, attributing such pressure to the death of his father, Kishor Mehta, the founder of the hospital, on May 20, 2024.
The division bench noted, “The complaint filed by Rajesh Mehta is nothing but an attempt to short-circuit the procedure adopted by HDFC Bank against its borrowers and to face an action as a debtor, who was jointly and severally liable to pay an amount of Rs 14 crore.”
The bank had initiated recovery proceedings which led to the issuance of an arrest warrant against Rajesh Mehta in 2023, following a court’s order for civil imprisonment of both Rajesh and Kishor Mehta. Despite multiple legal battles across various courts, including the Supreme Court, the Mehtas failed to overturn the recovery order.
The high court further criticized the role of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission, stating that it had acted beyond its jurisdiction by issuing a notice based on the community status of the complainant. The bench expressed skepticism over the application of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission Act to individual complaints such as this case, indicating that the provisions were likely not intended to shield debtors from financial obligations under the guise of minority status.
