A lawyer, whose wife moved Madras High Court Bench here seeking education loan from a bank, was found to have defaulted on repayment of his own education loan taken in 2006 and ordered by the court to clear it in instalments from next month.
Justice T S Sivagnanam ordered the lawyer, practising in civil and criminal courts in Tiruchendur, to make a payment of Rs 5,000 each every month to clear his outstanding with Paramankurichi branch of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).
He was disposing of a petition filed and argued by the lawyer's wife, who sought a direction to the bank to sanction loan for her to pursue five year law degree after her application was kept pending.
The Judge who inquired both the lawyer and the bank manager, summoned by him to be present in the court, found that the lawyer had obtained the loan and did not repay it. The loan account statements produced by the bank manager showed that the lawyer had an outstanding of Rs.2.02 lakh.
The Manager said the interest had accumulated due to the laywer's default since 2010.
When asked for the reason, the lawyer told the court that he had defaulted due to "reasons beyond his control."
The Judge then directed the lawyer to begin repaying from September and continue it without default so that the bank could consider waiving interest.
The judge also recorded the submission of the bank manager that a demand draft in favour of the petitioner's wife towards her education loan was ready and she could receive it any time.
