Madras High Court: Banks Can't Withhold Property Deeds

A recent court ruling clarified that banks can't hold onto your property documents or refuse to give you a 'no dues' certificate just because you owe money on a separate loan where you were a co-borrower.

The Madras High Court sided with a lorry owner who had fully paid off a loan for a tanker, but the bank refused to return the title deeds because the owner was a co-borrower on another outstanding loan.

The court said that a bank's right to combine accounts only applies if the loans are in the same capacity and that the owner's responsibility as a co-borrower doesn't let the bank hold the title deed of another property.

The court ordered the bank to return the documents.