The Karnataka High Court on Thursday ordered issue of notice to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on a PIL petition that said banks were not accepting cash for demand drafts (DDs) for sums lower than ₹50,000.
It said banks were insisting on payment through cheque or through an account in their branch even for a sum as low as ₹100.
A Division Bench, comprising acting Chief Justice L. Narayana Swamy and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar, passed the order on a petition filed by Ramesh Naik L., a Tumakuru-based advocate.
The petitioner said he came to know about the problem faced by people in getting DDs for smaller amounts, and approached many branches of several public sector banks in Tumakuru seeking a DD for ₹100 in favour of the district consumer redressal forum. However, many of them refused to accept cash. They insisted that the payment be made through cheque or that the petitioner should have an account in their branch.
He pointed that the State Bank of India, which initially refused to accept cash, later agreed to issue DD by accepting cash on the condition that the petitioner produced a copy of his Aadhaar card after he made a written complaint to the bank manager. The petitioner claimed that branches of other banks did not even accept the written complaint.
The petitioner claimed that banks not accepting cash was a violation of RBI guidelines, which allowed acceptance of cash for issuing DDs for sums below ₹50,000.
He said people paying college and school fees and those making payment for availing themselves of government services had been put to hardship because of the banks’ attitude.
The petitioner said his complaint made in December last to the RBI’s banking ombudsman had not yielded any response.
