Prayagraj, May 28 -- The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a bank cannot retain property documents once a loan has been fully settled, ordering the release of the papers within two weeks.

The verdict came while hearing a case involving a woman who had purchased a house in Ghaziabad in 2002 and later got the property mutated in her name. In 2012, the Bank of India informed her that the house was mortgaged, as the previous owner had stood as a guarantor for a Rs 5 lakh loan.

The loan, which had remained unpaid for years, had accumulated dues of over Rs 22 lakh. However, the bank later entered into a settlement with the present owner, who deposited Rs 5.5 lakh and was issued a no-dues certificate.

Despite this, the bank refused to relea...