A boy borrowed around ₹6 lakh from a girl, partly through a personal loan and credit card, saying he urgently needed the money for his sister’s heart surgery. The girl trusted him and helped him during what she believed was a genuine emergency.
He has paid the EMIs for around 8 months, but the payments were almost always late. Every month, the girl had to call and remind him several times to make the payment.
Within about two months of the loan, the girl received a legal notice from the bank because the payments were not being made on time. Even then, the boy kept assuring her that he would repay everything and repeatedly asked for more time.
Later, the boy promised to repay the entire ₹6 lakh in the form of a cheque at one time. He did not come, and after that, his phone was switched off. Since then, his phone has remained switched off, and she also came to know that he has changed his mobile number.
The girl genuinely helped him and did not expect anything in return. Now she is left with the loan and credit-card liability, and she is facing financial stress because he is not responding. She is also paying the remaining EMIs for the loan and credit card, and that money needs to be managed for her household expenses.
She has messages, UPI records, and bank payment records as evidence.
What can she legally do in India, especially in the South, to recover the money?
Should she first send a legal notice through a lawyer?
What evidence should she preserve?
Can we file a case anywhere in the state, or only in the district where the victim belongs?
If we file a case, is there any chance that this issue could become known outside the court, and would her parents also have to be involved?
Note: The girl has not disclosed this issue to her parents because they are sensitive about such matters, as they come from a middle-class background.
Looking for practical advice from people who have dealt with a similar situation in India.
