The Supreme Court has upheld the waiver of loans to thousands of farmers in Jammu and Kashmir affected by militancy, as it dismissed the appeal of Jammu Rural Bank seeking repayment of the loans by the small borrowers.
The court pointed out that the banks and financial institutions could get reimbursment of the waived loans from the Department of J & K Affairs, Government of India. "Unfortunately, the banks instead of availing of this facility, agitatated the matter up to the level of the Supreme Court by spending more money for recovery of petty amounts from small borrowers," the judgment said.
The judgment delivered by a bench headed by Justice P Sathasivam, stated that the notifictions issued by the state and central authorities regarding the waiver of loans deserved a liberal interpretation.
The indebtedness was due to continuous militant activities in the state. Most of the loans were for amounts less than Rs 10,000. The argument of the bank was that agriculturists were not included in the beneficiaries of the waiver.
The court explained that those who bought cattle on loan could have set up dairies and therefore could be included in the eligible class of 'traders'.
