Mumbai: Eleven months after a family was “physically thrown out” from their flat in Andheri East, which was mortgaged by its previous owner to State Bank of India (SBI) and Saraswat Cooperative Bank Ltd (SCBL), the Bombay High Court on Tuesday restored possession of the flat to the family.
The court said petitioner Mariam Rangwala and others, who had purchased the flat in a bank auction eight years ago, had been “unnecessarily” entangled in the dispute over recovery of dues by SCBL from the previous owner of the flat. The court said eviction of the family from the legally owned house had hit them like a “bolt out of the blue”, and directed SCBL to give them possession of the flat within four weeks.
“The petitioners, who are in valid and legal possession of the above mentioned flat for more than eight years, cannot be thrown out on the streets,” the court said.
Rangwalas had bought this flat in 2017 ₹Rs 66.45 lakh in the auction conducted by SBI. They were thrown out of their house in August last year on SCBL orders, with their belongings still inside.
The High Court said that the original owner of the flat, who had purchased it in 1985, had availed loan facilities from two banks – SCBL and SBI – by providing the same flat as security.
In 2004, Hi Tech Polyplast Industries, a firm owned by the previous owner, took advantage of the credit price ₹Rs 3.23 crore from SBI by mortgaging the flat and depositing its title deed. The security interest was registered with the Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (CERSAI) in March 2012. In the same year, the owner had also deposited the title deed of the flat with SCBL to avail overdraft facility. ₹25 lakhs.
In 2013, SCBL declared the owner’s loan account as non-performing asset and sought repayment ₹52.53 lakh. In April 2013, the bank took symbolic possession of the flat, but took no action for the next 12 years.
However, in 2025, SCBL filed an application before a magistrate to take action on symbolic possession of the flat taken 12 years ago. The high court said, following the magistrate’s order dated August 20, 2025, in pursuance of SCBL’s application, “the court commissioner physically evicted the petitioners and their family members.”
In their order, Justices Manish Pitale and Shriram Shirsat wrote that SCBL also admitted that the Rangwalas had conspired with SBI to deprive SCBL of its rights.
The court said that unlike SCBL, which had gone into “sleep”, SBI had acted with promptness. In May 2013, the bank issued a notice to the former owner and demanded repayment. ₹3.40 crores. It took symbolic possession of the flat in December 2013, while in April 2017 it issued an e-auction notice against the flat. colorist’s quote ₹66.45 lakh were sanctioned in August 2017.
The Rangwalas had a registered sale certificate of the flat; Although he claimed to be its legal owner, none of his objections and arguments were considered, the court said. Their lawyer was “at pains to point out the human suffering and tragedy suffered by the petitioners”.
The court said that SCBL can make a competing claim against SBI in the legal dispute without prejudice to the interests of the Rangwalas, especially when they have a registered sale certificate for the flat.
“We find that the defendant, Saraswat Bank, has miserably failed to explain its deep failure with regard to taking further logical action after taking symbolic possession of the flat on April 12, 2013,” the court said.
SCBL’s claim on the flat was absurd because once the security interest in the flat was settled, and SBI had enforced its security interest, the flat was no longer available for further enforcement by SCBL, the court ruled.
