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U**M**y retired Uncle trusted his cousin brother and financially helped him over a period of around 18 years. In total, the amount given is approximately 8 lakhs INR. Some payments were made directly, and apart from that, we also allowed him to stay in our house without paying rent for years.
At that time, he himself suggested that instead of paying rent, he would “keep that money safe” with him and return it whenever my uncle needed it. Since they were close relatives, my uncle trusted him and never maintained strict written agreements.
Now, when we recently asked him to return the money because of my uncle’s retirement and financial needs, his behavior completely changed. He openly refused to repay anything and said things like:
Things escalated further when he came to our house, verbally abused my parents and family members, and created a scene. The entire incident was captured on our CCTV cameras.
We do have:
* CCTV footage of him abusing and threatening us
* Some transaction proofs/messages (still collecting everything)
* Neighbors/family members who witnessed parts of this situationWe are now trying to understand:
1. What legal action can be taken in India in such cases?
2. Can we file both a civil recovery case and a police complaint for threats/abuse?
3. How important are bank transfers/messages if there were no formal written loan agreements?
4. Is sending a legal notice the right first step?My uncle is retired and emotionally disturbed because this involved a close family member whom he trusted for years.
Any genuine legal guidance or similar experiences would really help.
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ANAL. Honestly, the threats/abuse part being a criminal offence is probably easier to act on than proving an 18 year informal family loan (civil matter) with no paperwork. If you have CCTV footage, file a police complaint for intimidation/harassment and separately send a legal notice for the money recovery.
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UAccused are already a big time bank defaulters with multiple financial institutions. Recovery agents keep on visiting them regularly.
Trying to say – They are thick skin.
But thanks for your advice ❤️-
ANo worries but if they’re already habitual bank defaulters dealing with recovery agents regularly, then yeah, they’re probably thick skinned when it comes to civil recovery pressure. That’s why the intimidation/harassment complaint may actually get a more immediate response than just chasing the money alone but in parallel do put the pressure on the money recovery as well.
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DLawyer here. Even in the absence of a formal written loan agreement, bank transfers, messages, witnesses, conduct over the years, and any acknowledgment by the cousin regarding the money being kept safe can still carry evidentiary value before a court. A detailed legal notice demanding repayment and recording the history of financial assistance should be the first step.
However, one aspect to examine would be limitation, since recovery claims relating to very old transactions face legal hurdles. There need to be more recent acknowledgments, repayments or continuing transactions capable of extending limitation under law.
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