NHRC sends notices to bank, DM, SP of Nilgiris over edu loan

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to Central Bank of India, District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Nilgiris in
Tamil Nadu over allegations of harassment of a beneficiary of an education loan and has sought a report within two weeks.
"The Commission has taken cognisance of a complaint alleging harassment by a public sector bank to a beneficiary of education loan and her family which displayed their photographs in their Manjoor Branch, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu showing them as 'missing' and 'defaulter'," said an NHRC statement.
Allegedly, the ailing father of the victim died due to shock after receiving threatening telephonic calls from the bank in spite of the fact that half of the loan amount was already paid in the first month itself after the moratorium period though she had the option to use 120 installments to repay the loan.

"Enforcing the practice of 'name and shame rules' in educational loans would certainly amount to serious violation of human rights. Publishing photographs of parents and students (defaulters) have the potential of exposing the students to irreparable loss, injury and prejudice," Justice D Murugesan, Member of NHRC has observed.
"Apparently, the bank appears to have believed that shaming the defaulters would pressurise the families to repay outstanding educational loans. Such display of photographs of defaulters of educations loan (who normally come from poor families and particularly rural areas) would certainly amount to loss of their dignity apart from violation of their human rights," he added.

Accordingly, notices have been issued to the Chairman, Central Bank of India, Central Office, Mumbai, District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police, District Nilgiris and Branch Manager, Central Bank of India, Manjoor Branch, District Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu calling for a report within four weeks.

The Commission had received a complaint in the matter on July 13.
It carried, as an attachment a letter of the victim. According to this, she had taken an education loan for Rs 2 lakh from the Manjoor Branch of Central Bank of India to pursue her Bachelor of Engineering degree course.
She completed the course in 2013 and according to the model IVA Scheme, the first repayment had to commence from July, 2014 as per the moratorium.

The moratorium included study period and a year after that to start the process of repaying the loan in 120 installments, but she had paid half of the loan amount in the first month after the moratorium. She said that the coercive methods adopted by the bank that too against the established norms of education loan repayment amounted to violation of human rights.