RBI Amends Deposit Interest Rate Directions, Allows Differential Rates For Bulk Deposits

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 30 July amended its directions on interest rates on deposits, permitting banks to offer different interest rates on Rupee bulk deposits based on Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) requirements while mandating uniform interest rate disclosure across branches and customers for similar deposits. The amendments, which come into force from 1 October 2026, were issued after considering stakeholder feedback on the draft directions released by the RBI in June 2026. Under...

Mumbai Court Directs CBI To Furnish Chargesheet To Ex-RCFL CEO Devang Mody In ₹7,623 Crore Fraud Case

A Special CBI Court in Mumbai on Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to furnish an electronic copy of the chargesheet to former Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd. (RCFL) Chief Executive Officer and Director Devang Pravin Mody. Mody is accused in the alleged ₹7,623 crore bank fraud case involving Reliance ADA Group companies. The case relates to alleged irregularities in loans extended by a consortium of 31 banks and financial institutions to Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd....

RBI Banking Ombudsman Cannot Review Or Recall Order After Disposing Complaint: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently held that the RBI Banking Ombudsman has no authority to review or recall an order after disposing of a complaint, observing that the Ombudsman becomes functus officio once the proceedings conclude. "As a matter of fact, Banking Ombudsman has no right or authority to review or recall the original Ext.P4 Order. After disposal of the complaint, the Banking Ombudsman becomes functus officio. Accordingly, I find that Ext.R3(c) Order passed by the Banking Ombudsman...

Supreme Court Issues Notice On Ex-Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti's Plea To Stay Conviction In Bank Fraud Case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice on an appeal filed by former Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti against the Delhi High Court's ruling refusing to stay his conviction in the Gram Vikas Bank fraud case. Bharti was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for conspiracy, cheating, and forgery over the fraudulent extension of a fixed deposit.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice and posted the matter for hearing after 4 weeks.In its July 10 judgment, the High...

Delhi High Court Orders Winding Up of Paytm Payments Bank On RBI Plea

The Delhi High Court has recently ordered the winding up of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd on a petition filed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Sections 38 and 39 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The bank had decided not to oppose the regulator's action.Justice Anish Dayal accepted the RBI's plea for winding up the company and appointed Girikumar M. Nair as the Official Liquidator."The prayer of the RBI seeking winding up of the company under Section 38 read with Section 39 of the Banking...

Calcutta High Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Bajaj Finserv MD, Holds Loan Dispute Civil in Nature

The Calcutta High Court has recently quashed criminal proceedings against the Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv and another company official. It held that allegations arising from the restructuring of a personal loan and the recovery of loan dues disclosed a civil dispute rather than criminal offences such as cheating, criminal breach of trust or forgery.Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee held that the complaint did not contain the particulars necessary to sustain the allegation of forgery. The court...

Wife's Failure To Disclose Husband As Home Loan Co-Borrower Not Material Suppression: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 21 July held that a borrower's failure to disclose that her husband was a co-borrower in a housing loan could not, in the facts of the case, be treated as material suppression so as to deny her release of a property attached under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata quashed the order dated 25 November 2021 passed by the Special Judge under the MPID Act, which had refused to release...

BoB Can Consider Company Promoters' Creditworthiness For Tender Eligibility: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently upheld Bank of Baroda's decision to disqualify Manipal Technologies Limited (MTL) from participating in a tender. It held that a procuring entity is entitled to consider the financial standing and creditworthiness of a company's promoters while assessing its eligibility.A bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha dismissed MTL's writ appeal challenging an interim order refusing to stay its disqualification from the bank's tender for...

Kerala High Court Directs SBI To Pay Interest On FD Subject To Auto-Renewal Under Its Own Circular

The Kerala High Court has recently directed the State Bank of India to pay interest on a firm's fixed deposit for the period between its maturity and May 12, 2013. The court held that SBI's own circular required the deposit to be automatically renewed in the absence of any contrary instructions.Justice M.A. Abdul Hakhim therefore, observed, "Ext.P18 Circular of the Respondent No.1 itself provides that on maturity, the Term Deposit is to be automatically renewed for the same period at the rate of...

RBI Penalises Muthoot Finance, Muthoot Vehicle and Asset Finance For KYC Lapses

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a Rs. 5.80 lakh penalty on Muthoot Finance Limited for non-compliance with certain Know Your Customer (KYC) directions issued by the RBI. The penalty was imposed through an order dated July 10, 2026. According to the RBI, the company had failed to put in place a system for periodic review of the risk categorisation of accounts. The company had also not implemented a robust software system for the effective identification and reporting of suspicious...

Kerala High Court Revises Its Guidelines On Freezing Bank Accounts Suspected Of Money Mule Activity

The Kerala High Court on 14 July held that banks can freeze accounts suspected to be “money mule” accounts based on their own assessment of suspicious activity, even without a requisition from a law enforcement agency, as they are best placed to identify such accounts. Therefore, courts must give due weight to their assessment. Justice M.A. Abdul Hakhim revised the guidelines governing the freezing of suspected money mule accounts while disposing of a petition filed by Ajith P.R. seeking a...

Minor Admitted To Partnership Firm's Benefits Not Liable For Firm's Loan Default: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 7 July held that a person admitted only to the benefits of a partnership firm as a minor cannot be treated as a defaulter for the firm's loan merely because the firm failed to repay its dues. Justice M.A. Abdul Hakhim allowed a petition filed by Dhruv Hitesh Dattani challenging adverse remarks in his CIBIL report, observing that since the partnership firm had already dissolved before he attained majority, there was no occasion for him to exercise the option under...