Court Seeks Response From RBI On Plea To Withdraw Five Lakh Rupees From PMC bank

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Central Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on a petition requesting the depositors of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) bank stuck in the scam to withdraw up to five lakh rupees.

The petition said that this amount should be allowed to be withdrawn for treatment and other expenses due to the coronavirus epidemic. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan issued notice to the Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India and PMC Bank on the petition of consumer rights activist Bejon Kumar Mishra.

The court asked them to reply before the next hearing on 19 August. Mishra, in a petition filed through advocate Shashank Dev, said that during the previous hearing, the court had asked depositors to put their representation before the Centre, RBI or PMC Bank about their financial difficulties and refunds.
The petition further said that despite this, no action has been taken till date to help the depositors withdraw funds from the PMC bank as per their requirement. The petition said that the moratorium on money withdrawals has been extended to December 2020, while more than 35 depositors of the bank have ended their lives allegedly due to financial constraints.

The petition states that it appears that the bank has no shortage of funds, as more than eight crore rupees are being spent on the maintenance of its branches, including payment of salaries of the employees, while the depositor is Struggling to get back the hard-earned money The petition states that the bank is not releasing funds equal to the sum insured of five lakh rupees to assist depositors in the event of a health crisis. The petition demanded that the RBI and PMC Bank be issued a directive asking them to take immediate decision on the request of depositors for withdrawal of funds.