Facing prospects of his bungalow in Mumbai being auctioned to recover unpaid loans, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol has offered to settle all outstanding dues, prompting state-owned lender Bank of Baroda to drop auction proceedings for the property. The lender issued a statement, saying Deol has offered to settle the dues, hours after it withdraw the public notice to auction the villa owned by the actor and sitting BJP Member of Parliament, citing the technical reasons, a move that was questioned by Congress.
“In the meantime, the borrower has approached the bank for settling the dues as per the sale notice published where the guarantors were notified that they are entitled to redeem the securities by paying the outstanding dues and expenses at any time before the sale is conducted, the bank said.
Bank of Baroda said the auction notice was withdrawn after the borrower agreed to settle the dues as well due to certain technical reasons.
Explaining the technical reasons, the second largest public sector lender said the total dues did not specify the exact quantum of dues to be recovered. Also, the sale notice was based on a symbolic possession of the property as per Rule 8(6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002.
The bank said an application to the chief metropolitan magistrate sent on August 1, 2023, seeking physical possession of the poverty is pending. “Since the unit is running as conveyed to us by the borrower, the sale will be initiated as per the provisions of the Sarfaesi Act, once the physical possession is taken.” Accordingly, the sale notice is withdrawn as per the normal industry practice followed in other cases as well, the lender said in a fresh statement. In a public notice, the Bank of Baroda had said it would e-auction Sunny Villa in the Juhu area of the city on September 25.
However, in a corrigendum, the bank said the e-auction notice published on August 20 stands withdrawn due to technical reasons. Apart from Sunny Villa, the 599.44-square meter property also houses Sunny Sounds, which is owned by the Deols, and is the corporate guarantor to the loan, while Sunny’s actor-politician father Dharmendra is the personal guarantor of the debt, according to the auction notice.
The notice further said the Deols had the option of clearing the dues of the bank to prevent the auction under the provisions of the Sarfaesi Act 2002.
The matter sparked a political row with opposition Congress raising questions about the Bank of Baroda withdrawing the e-auction notice for the Juhu bungalow.
