Lahore: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday ruled that the country’s financial institutions did not need to obtain a banking court decree to sell mortgaged properties for making recoveries on defaulted loans – a news source reported.
The court was announcing a majority judgement on petitions
regarding Section 15 of the Finance Institutions (Recovery of Finances)
Ordinances 2001. This framework allows banks to sell mortgaged properties in
cases of defaults on loans. The court’s ruling has overturned a previous
single-bench ruling by the High Court that had led to suspension of Section 15
in 2016.
The bench was headed by Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, Justice Jawad Hassan, and Justice Asim Hafeez. The detailed judgement is yet to be released.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had last year referred the
matter to the Chief Justice with a request to expedite its disposal. The
suspension of Section 15 has often been seen as a major obstruction in the
development of housing finance in the country – as well as accused of causing
impediments for the incumbent government’s flagship Naya Pakistan Housing
Programme (NPHP).
