News

Volume 6 Issue 8 - October 01, 2009

Pay up, Supreme Court tells banks!

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: The Supreme Court of India has issued notices to the Reserve Bank of India, 27 nationalised banks and the Indian Bank Association asking for an explanation as to why they have not complied with its 2004 judgement directing them to put the money collected by rounding up interest tax collections in a corpus fund for implementation of the Disability Act of 1995.

Banks have been earning around Rs. 724 crores annually since 1993 by rounding up interest tax collections. This amount now is a whopping Rs. 10,000 crores. The Supreme Court in its 2004 directive had asked that a Trust be set up for this purpose, headed by Comptroller and Auditor General (C.A.G.).

But 5 years since the order, nothing substantial has been done in this regard. This was revealed in a P.I.L. filed in the Supreme Court recently. The P.I.L. said that except for starting a scholarship scheme for disabled students with a maximum expenditure of Rs. 1 crore every year, nothing much has been done.

Colin Gonsalves, advocate for the petitioner said that if this fund is utilized, the implementation of the Disability Act would not need State funding.

When Additional Solicitor General, Indira Jaising conceded that it was not possible for the government to collect the money due from the banks, the Bench issued notices to 27 nationalised banks seeking their response as to why they have not complied with the 2004 verdict of the apex court.