A day after the news of the notice to Bollywood actor Sunny Deol spread like wildfire, the Bank of Baroda withdrew its notice on Monday (21 August). They have retracted their statement citing ‘technical reasons’ through their official X handle.
The statement said, “Corrigendum to e-auction sale notice dated 19.08.2023 published in The Times of India Mumbai edition dated 20.08.2023 with regards to sale notice in respect of Mr. Ajay Sing Deol Alias Mr. Sunny Deol stands withdrawn due to technical reasons.”
The bank issued a notice on 19th August which was widely reported in the media on the 20th of August. The notice pertained to Sunny Deol’s Juhu bungalow in which the bank claimed that in case of non-payment of outstanding dues worth nearly Rs 56 crores, the bank will conduct a virtual auction of the actor’s property in September.
Without providing specific details or timelines, a senior official from the Bank of Baroda said that the issue of repayment would be addressed.
Why Bank of Baroda withdrew their earlier notice against Sunny Deol
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Bank of Baroda shared the technical reasons for which the earlier notice dated 19 August was withdrawn. The official statement pointed out that the total dues did not specify the exact quantum of dues to be recovered.
— Bank of Baroda (@bankofbaroda) August 21, 2023
The bank in its statement highlighted that its application for getting physical possession is still pending before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and the sale action could only be initiated once they get physical possession, as mandated under SARFAESI Act.
The statement further read, “Secondly, the sale notice was based on a symbolic possession of the property as per Rule 8(6) of The Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002. An application has been made for physical possession by the Bank with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on 01st August 2023, which is pending permission. Since the unit is running as conveyed to us by the borrower, sale action will be initiated as per the provisions of the SARFAESI Act, once the physical possession is taken.”
Apart from the technical reason, the bank also highlighted that the borrower (Sunny Deol) has approached the Bank for settling the dues as per the sale notice published on 20th August 2023. As per the notice, the borrower/guarantors were notified that they are entitled to redeem the securities by paying the outstanding dues/costs/charges and expenses at any time before the sale is conducted.
In the wake of these technical reasons, the statement added that the sale notice is withdrawn as per the normal industry practice followed in other cases as well.
Sunny Deol responds to the notice row
Following the circulation of the news, Sunny Deol said that they are in the process to resolve the issue with the bank. The actor also requested that speculations in this regard should be stopped.
Through his team, Sunny Deol conveyed, “We are in the process of resolving this issue and the issue will be resolved. We request for no further speculation on the same.”
Sunny Deol’s property in Juhu is known as Sunny Villa and it occupies an area of 599.44 square metres on Gandhigram Road in Juhu, Mumbai.
