The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to file an affidavit on the steps it has taken to protect the interests of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank depositors after the imposition of the ₹40,000 withdrawal limit.
A Division Bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and R.I. Chagla was hearing a petition filed by depositors Haresh Raisinghani and his daughter Tweesha, and Bhagwan Motwani. The plea said Ms. Raisinghani is engaged, but the family is not able to arrange for funds of at least ₹50 lakh for the wedding in December. Mr. Motwani’s son, meanwhile, needs ₹16.5 lakh to complete a training programme, of which he has already spent ₹5.5 lakh, the petition said. He has enough money in his fixed deposit to pay for it, but is not able to transfer it.
The petitions said the PMC has about 137 branches and 51,000 members across seven States. The bank has deposits of around ₹11,617.34 crore, cash investments and a balance of ₹4,243.12 crore, and made a net profit of ₹99.69 crore as on March 31. The petitioners want the court to quash the RBI’s directive on the withdrawal limit.
The court asked what right the petitioners had to approach the High Court, to which advocate Pradnya Talekar said the petitioners had every right to invoke the writ jurisdiction since their constitutional right was violated. Any statutory provision can be invoked only to the extent of controlling banks or financial institutions. However, by no stretch of imagination can the RBI impose restrictions on the rights of depositors, she said.
The court said the RBI knows all the affairs of the bank in question, and is the bankers’ bank and an expert body on such issues. “We don’t want to interfere and dilute your (RBI’s) authority,” the court said.
One of the petitioners sought permission from the court to access a bank locker, the judges said. “The court cannot allow access. How can we or anyone prevent the RBI from taking action? If the RBI says ‘stay away from the bank’, then do so.” It said the depositors could sue the bank if they wanted. “Courts are not magicians. Let us not give false hopes to depositors,” the court said.
It directed the RBI to file an affidavit on the steps taken to protect depositors’ interest by November 13 and posted the matter for hearing on November 19.
