Mandamus cannot enforce non-statutory RBI guidelines or reopen final recovery proceedings after the decree has attained finality.

A writ of mandamus cannot compel a bank to declare a borrower's account as an NPA from an earlier date or to extend RBI compromise guidelines where the account was not shown to satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria and the guidelines had no statutory force. Mandamus lies only to enforce a legal right supported by a corresponding statutory duty, which was absent here. An independent writ petition also cannot be used to stay execution proceedings or cancel a recovery certificate after the underlying debt recovery decree has attained finality. The impugned writ relief was therefore held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether a writ of mandamus could be issued directing a bank to declare the borrowers' account as a non-performing asset from an earlier date and to extend the benefit of Reserve Bank of India compromise guidelines, and whether the recovery proceedings and recovery certificate could be stayed or cancelled in an independent writ petition after the debt recovery decree had attained finality.

Analysis: The revised Reserve Bank guidelines governing compromise settlement of chronic NPAs applied only to accounts that satisfied the stipulated eligibility criteria, including classification as an NPA on the relevant cut-off date. The borrowers' account was not shown to have been classified as NPA on that date, and the guidelines were only executive instructions without statutory force. A writ of mandamus lies only to enforce a legal right founded on a statutory duty; no such duty was shown against the bank to declare the account as NPA from the claimed date or to apply the guidelines. Further, once the debt recovery decree had not been challenged and had attained finality, an independent writ petition could not be used to stay execution proceedings or cancel the recovery certificate.

Conclusion: The direction to declare the account as NPA, apply the Reserve Bank of India guidelines, stay execution, and cancel the recovery certificate was unsustainable, and the writ relief was rightly rejected.

Final Conclusion: The bank was entitled to succeed, and the impugned judgment of the High Court was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Mandamus cannot issue to compel performance of a non-statutory act or to enforce executive guidelines in the absence of a corresponding legal right and statutory duty, especially where the underlying recovery decree has already attained finality.

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