HC asks RBI why PMC case is different from YES

NEWDELHI: The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to file additional affidavits to explain how the depositors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank are “differently circumstanced” in comparison to YES Bank.

The court observed this after going through the affidavit filed by the Centre stating that it has not invested any funds in YES Bank. It added that the investors, which includes the State Bank of India (SBI), had invested in the share capital of YES Bank, upon sanction being accorded by it to the YES Bank Limited Reconstruction Scheme, 2020. RBI was then directed to cite reasons that prompted it to take action in “public interest” to secure the interest of Yes Bank depositors, and why the Centre and RBI decided to “permit, firstly, the YES Bank Ltd Reconstruction Scheme being brought into play and, secondly, to have it funded”.

The order was uploaded on Friday.

In a separate status report, the counsel appearing for the administrator of PMC Bank said that so far, none of its assets have been seized or liquidated. In response, the court said that considering the dire state of PMC depositors, the administrator must approach the concerned court to hasten the process. The order comes on a plea by PMC customers, seeking directions to RBI to ensure that their money is paid in full.