5-Yr Imprisonment For Forcible Debt Recovery, Tamil Nadu Governor Clears 2 Bills

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Friday approved two bills, one to impose five-year imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5 lakh for forcible debt recovery and the other to arrest without trial for dumping biomedical waste.

5 years in prison for forcible debt collection

Complaints have been registered against some lending institutions in Tamil Nadu for using threats and coercion to collect loans. In this context, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin introduced a new amendment bill in the Legislative Assembly on April 26 to prevent institutions from forcibly collecting money from individuals and self-help groups.

Deputy CM Stalin, who read the amendment bill, said, "The lending institution should not coerce, threaten, pursue, or seize the property of the borrower or his family. Violators will be punished with 5 years in prison and a fine of Rs 5 lakh. If the borrower commits suicide during the forcible debt recovery, the lending institution will be considered to have instigated the suicide. If the debt is collected through forcible means, the penalty will be imprisonment without bail."

Dumping biomedical waste

Similarly, a bill for direct imprisonment without trial for dumping biomedical waste in Tamil Nadu was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on March 24. This bill was introduced by former Law Minister Raghupathi, taken up for discussion on April 29 and subsequently passed.

The amendment further states, "Previously, only those involved in counterfeit liquor, cybercrime, sand smuggling and sex offenders were ordered preventive detention. From now on, those who dump biomedical waste will also be put under preventive detention. According to this bill, anyone who illegally accumulates biomedical waste in this state or who dumps medical waste in Tamil Nadu from neighboring states will be considered to have violated the biomedical waste management rules and will be kept in preventive detention without trial."

The Governor has given his assent to both these bills passed in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in April.