HC asks RBI report on banks’ malpractice

BANGALORE: Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to submit the report on some of the banks deducting Rs 750 from customers' accounts for not maintaining quarterly balance.A petition had been filed in the court that some banks were wrongfully deducting Rs 750 from the accounts of customers who failed to maintain quarterly balance. The petition stated the bank was exempting those who draw more than Rs 1 lakh at a time if their quarterly balance was not maintained. The petition said only the poor found it difficult to maintain the minimum balance. The petition also said that some banks were charging penalty to customers even though they were repaying their loans in time. According to the RBI's report dated November 15, 2010, two banks have collected more than Rs 100 crore as penalty. On Tuesday, Karnataka High Court's division bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar directed the RBI to submit its report on the issue before the next hearing, which is on July 5. This came after the RBI requested the court for more time to submit the report. Earlier the RBI had submitted before the court that it had set up a special committee to study the issue and would submit the report in the court.