About 40 years after legendary singer Mohd. Rafi passed away, his youngest son, Shahid Rafi, is at risk of losing part of the family home, Rafi Mansion, which the singer built in the 1970s on 28thh Road at Bandra in Bombay. HDFC Bank had filed a petition in the court, seeking possession of Shahid’s flat on the fifth floor of the building which came up in the 1980s after the bungalow in which Rafi resided was razed.
The bank claimed that Shahid inked a deal with Nimbus Industries Ltd. to sell the flat, and the company took a loan of Rs. 4.16 crore from the bank to purchase the property. The bank moved the court for claiming the property after Nimbus defaulted on repayment.
Shahid claimed that he never intended to sell the property to Nimbus, and that he had entered into an agreement with the company in November 2017 in lieu of a short term loan from Nimbus. He added that since he did not receive the entire amount promised to him by Nimbus, the agreement wasn’t executed. According to Shahid, he had received Rs. 1.95 crore although the agreement was for a loan of Rs. 3.16 crore from Nimbus. He also argued that since the agreement wasn’t registered with the authorities, it cannot be binding.
The high court refused to grant Shahid relief. But there was a glimmer of hope for Shahid from the Debt Recovery Tribunal which he approached after the court allowed him to take appropriate proceedings and which granted a stay in his favour on 10th October. Shahid told the DRT that there was sentimental value attached to the house and that this was the sole house in his name.