Early bond recall: Notify each holder

The National Commission ruled that public notices weren't sufficient. To avoid liability, the bank must send individual notifications and produce proof of having served them

IDBI Bank launched a public issue of unsecured bonds in January 1992. Sadananda Das applied for and was allocated one deep discount bond at an issue price of Rs 2,700. The certificate clearly stipulated that both the bondholder and the bank had the option to surrender or redeem the bond after every five years. The redemption amount would vary depending on the period. At the end of the fifth year, the amount would be Rs 5,700; in the 10th year, Rs 12,000; in the 15th year, Rs 25,000; in the 20th year, Rs 50,000; and in the 25th year, Rs