LAHORE:Lahore High Court (LHC) has remarked that the legal heirs of the deceased are not responsible personally to repay debt and bank can recover loan from mortgaged property .

The court approved the appeal of private bank partly.

A two members bench of LHC comprising Justice Chaudhry Sultan Mehmood and Justice Tanvir Ahmad Sheikh issued decision on the appeal.

The four pages decision was authored by Justice Chaudhry Sultan Mehmood.

The court maintained the personal responsibility of the legal heirs and legal position of the mortgaged property inherited by them are two separate matters. Merely on this basis that they are legal successors of the deceased the heirs can not be held responsible for repayment of the loan under the renewed documents of this loan which have been prepared after the death of the debtor.

Justice Chaudhry Sultan Mehmood wrote in its decision that the right of mortgage does not come to end due to the death of the debtor on the land which was kept mortgaged during his life.

Therefore, the bank wields legal right to recover loan from property mortgaged under original mortgage deed. However personal responsibility cannot be fixed on the legal heirs on the basis of renewed documents prepared after death.

The court while approving the appeal of the private bank partly maintained the bank has right to recover loan from the property under original mortgage deed. But the legal heirs can not be made bound to repay the loan in person on the basis of renewed documents prepared after the death of the deceased.

This way the court made partial amendment in the decision of the banking court.