Perhaps for the first time and also as a huge relief to depositors who deal with urban cooperative banks in hope of fetching higher returns, the High Court of Bombay at Goa has questioned RBI’s arbitrary diktat.
The court has granted ad interim stay on some clauses of the order of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that directed the Mapusa Urban Cooperative Bank (MUCB) of Goa not to allow depositors to withdraw more than 1,000, reports Times of India.
The high court has issued a notice to the RBI returnable on August 3, 2015. The high court also noted that the impugned directions prima facie do not disclose any reasons.
At clause (i) of the RBI order against Mapusa Urban Cooperative Bank of Goa it is mentioned, “A sum not exceeding 1,000 or the total balance in every savings bank or current account or any other deposit account by whatever name called may be allowed to be withdrawn by a depositor provided that wherever such depositor is having liability to the bank in any manner that is either as a borrower or surety the amount may be adjusted first to the relevant borrowed accounts.”
Clause (v) restricts the expenditure on a day-to-day administration of the bank.
At point No. 2, the RBI order directed the Mapusa Urban Cooperative Bank of Goa to forward a copy of the directives to each depositor of the bank.
A senior counsel appearing for the petitioner bank, argued the bank has about 2,80,000 savings bank account holders throughout Goa who would be gravely prejudiced by such a harsh order.