NOTICE TO ARBITRATE

24/01/2024

TO

Nodal Officer,
Kotak Mahindra Pvt. Ltd.
Kotak Infiniti, 4th floor, Zone 1, Bldg No. 21,
Infinity Park, General AK Vaidya Marg, Malad (E),
Mumbai – 400097
Email- - K.Vora2@kotak.com
Phone:- 022-6204 2120

SUBJECT: NOTICE TO ARBITRATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH MISBEHAVIOR

DONE BY KOTAK MAHINDRA AGENTS- EXECUTED BETWEEN ABHIN
SHARMA AND KOTAK MAHINDRA PERSONAL LOAN, UNDER SECTION 21 OF
THE ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT, 1996

Sir/Madam

1. I, ABHIN SHARMA had entered into an agreement for Personal Loan with Loan
Account No.: SPLN74846525 .

2. Under the Said Agreement A Personal Loan was sanctioned by you and I had
agreed to repay the loan in equated installments as per the repayment schedule.

3. Due to unfortunate circumstances and force majeure conditions beyond my control

and due to financial cuts leading to expenses exceeding income I have been unable
to repay the amounts due. This same has been intimated to you from time to time.

4. I am being harassed by the agents of your bank, who are acting in violation of the
terms stated in the agreement and RBI guidelines for recovery of debt and the
following disputes and differences have arisen between us:

a. Kotak Mahindra has allocated a Personal Loan to me. This amount was to
be paid in Equated Monthly Instalments as decided at the time of
disbursement of loan. I was paying the EMI regularly initially, but due to
drastic change in my financial situation I was unable to pay a few EMIs
after which I started receiving too many calls from your bank
representatives, many of these calls were rude.
b. I explained the situation to the representatives and informed them that I am
not a wilful defaulter and I genuinely want to settle the loan and come out
 of the problem once and for all. Even after such intimation to the
representatives they kept on harassing me and threatening me with dire
consequences.

c. It must be noted that I have sent all my documents to the bank on their
grievance redressed Email ID as mentioned on the official website of Kotak
Mahindra including the following:

i. Intimation Letter – Intimating the bank about change in my

financial situation and my inability to pay, along with the request
for settlement.
ii. Preferred Location Letter – Intimating the bank about a
preferred place of meeting with your representatives as per the
guidelines of the RBI.
iii. Letter of Authorization – Authorizing Advocate Muniba Shakeel
as my legal representative for communication with the bank.

d. Even after taking the bonafide steps to resolve the issue, a representative
DRA of your Bank, contacting from various numbers and various other
spam numbers (9711793224, 9891002707, 9599791971, 7011515174,
9899130411), proceeded to call and harass me continuously without any
respite and tried to leak unauthorized information about the dealing
between the Bank and myself, also proceeded to threaten and malign my
reputation. He called my society’s maintenance office as well as my family
members and relatives who were not even a part of the nominee list and
tried to malign my reputation in front of them by saying he is a fraud,
cheater and all. The Recovery Agents of your bank are constantly trying to
threaten my livelihood, without which am I supposed to lead a life or
sustain myself or save money for paying my dues.

e. The Agents of your bank have caused me mental and psychological distress
and the same is my right to be protected against by the RBI guidelines and
the Laws of Land in general. I am fully committed to pay off my dues and
this behavior is unethical and unprofessional.

f. I have informed the same to the recovery agents of your bank, but they did
not try to understand and pressured me to pay my dues. While doing so
they have used force as well abusive language with me and using words
like Dalle, Bhadwe, Bhagode, Baap, 2 kaudi ke. As the RBI guidelines
promote the recovery process in a due process of law and the current
behavior of these agents is anything but lawful. Thus I am requesting you
to try to understand my situation and give me some time to recover my
financial faculties to pay my EMIs. Furthermore, direct recovery agents to
behave properly when trying to recover the dues and kindly order them to
cease and desist in these actions forthwith. As per RBI guidelines, I will
remain available for contact on my registered contact number and am
 available to meet at the preferred location already shared with your Bank
but not in my home.

g. Here I am attaching the call recordings and screenshots of the whatsapp

messages I have for your reference. I hope you will take action against this
inappropriate behavior & advise the teams to stop this harassment.

h. The above-mentioned act has caused mental trauma to the family for which
I am liable to be compensated. I am neither a criminal nor have committed
any offense. The debt can be handled in a humane and a rational manner
without destroying the reputation and societal standing of my family and
me and without causing any hurt or harm.

i. Your actions are in violation of the RBI Circular on Outsourcing of

Financial Services - Responsibilities of regulated entities employing
Recovery Agents (RBI/2022-23/108, DOR.ORG.REC.65/21.04.158/2022-
23) which is available at
https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=12378&Mode=0
and my legal rights have been violated by you and your agents and I am
entitled for compensation for the same.

j. Your representatives have also violated the loan agreement, by not

following steps of debt recovery stated in the agreement and have caused
immense mental distress. The entire process is meant to cause injury to my
reputation and societal standing, when I am neither a criminal nor a
habitual offender. You are liable to compensate me for the actions of your
agents which have offended my dignity and damaged my reputation.

k. Please take note that if you do not provide an undertaking to stop the
harassment and in the next 3 days and provide a compensation of 1,00,000,
this notice will be deemed to be treated in accordance with Section 21 of
the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Hence, I am constrained, to
refer the disputes in relation to the Agreement for adjudication to a Sole
Arbitrator without any further reference/ notice to you.

The Arbitration Clause 14 of the Loan Agreement, provides you the right to
appoint a Sole Arbitrator at your discretion. This right is no longer valid in view of
the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Perkins Eastman v HSCC.

5. In order to ensure a fair and impartial process, I am requesting the ‘Centre for
Alternate Dispute Resolution Excellence (CADRE) Address: c/o 42, 12th Main
Rd, 4th T Block East, KV Layout, Jayanagar, Bengaluru KA 560011 IN Email:
resolve@cadreodr.com website: https://cadreodr.com/ to appoint a sole
independent arbitrator from its panel of arbitrators. Such arbitrator will be
appointed by CADRE, in accordance with process determined by CADRE Rules
as per the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and shall have no direct or
 indirect relationship with you or be disqualified in any manner. The seat of such
arbitration shall be as per the agreement.

6. We propose the following objectives for the arbitration proceedings:

● To seek compensation of Rs.1,00,000 for the emotional distress caused by the

harassment and abuse.
● To obtain an apology and assurance that such behavior will not be repeated.
● To prevent further communication with Mr. ABHIN or any third parties
without his explicit consent.
● To ensure that appropriate measures are taken against the Kotak Mahindra
Pvt. Ltd. collection associates involved.

We trust that you will conduct the arbitration proceedings in an impartial and fair
manner, taking into consideration the evidence provided and the legal rights of Mr.
Abhin Sharma, We are confident that your expertise will assist in resolving this
matter efficiently and justly.
Please acknowledge receipt of this notice and provide us with any necessary
instructions or documentation to proceed with the arbitration case. We are available
for any further information or clarification you may require.

7. This notice to arbitrate is without prejudice to my legal rights and contentions. I

am also interested in mediating and arriving at an amicable settlement of this
dispute and request the CADRE arbitrator to also help us in mediating the dispute.

Name: Abhin Sharma

Date: 24/01/2024