Redemption

Transfer of Property Act, 1882 — Section 60

The right of a mortgagor (borrower) to recover mortgaged property by repaying the outstanding debt. Under Section 60 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the mortgagor's right to redeem is a fundamental right that cannot be extinguished except by court decree or by sale under SARFAESI. The right exists until the property is sold.

In practice, the right of redemption is the borrower's escape hatch — under Section 60 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, a mortgagor can recover the mortgaged property by paying the entire outstanding debt, and this right survives until the property is actually sold. In SARFAESI enforcement this becomes a live timing question: until the secured asset is sold (and within the statutory framework, up to the point fixed by the SARFAESI scheme), the borrower can tender the full dues and stop the sale. Creditors must therefore keep an accurate, defensible figure of dues, because a borrower who tenders that amount before sale is entitled to redeem, and a sale conducted after a valid redemption tender can be set aside. Borrowers defending an auction frequently anchor on redemption — arguing the dues were over-stated or that a genuine tender was refused. The right cannot be extinguished by contract; only a court decree or a completed sale ends it. Well-advised creditors fix the redemption cut-off and the exact dues before confirming any sale.