Banking scams have led to loss of faith in India's banking system: Subramanian Swamy moves Supreme Court for CBI probe against RBI officers

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy has approached the Supreme Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged illegalities committed by officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which, he claims, resulted in various banking/financial scams in India..The scams have caused great prejudice to the economy of India and officials of RBI have been in demonstrable active connivance and in grave violations of their statutory duties, thereby failing to prevent these scams, Swamy and Advocate Satya Sabharwal have alleged. ."In the last couple of years, various banks have reported scams after scams wherein the role of bank officials were clearly made out but surprisingly not even a single RBI official has been brought to justice despite RBI retaining the power to monitor, regulate, supervise, audit and direct the functioning of all banking companies in India," it has been submitted. .The RBI has failed to protect the interests of various stakeholders including depositors, investors and shareholders and this has led to the loss of faith in India's banking system, the plea further alleges. "The failure to protect the interest of stakeholders, has led to the loss of faith in the entire banking system in India with the Regulator being supinely indifferent to the series of bank frauds with questions now being raised about it.".Failure to protect the interest of stakeholders, has led to the loss of faith in the entire banking system in India.Plea filed by Subramanian Swamy in Supreme Court.Swamy and Sabharwal have contended that the scheme of the Banking Regulation Act makes the RBI the responsible for bank management, more so in case of public sector banks. Yet, in none of the high-profile banking scams has the CBI sought to examine, even at a cursory level, the role of RBI officials, the plea adds. It is also stated,."The same is evident from the information obtained by the Petitioner(s) through applications filed under the Right to Information Act, 2005, which reveals that no officer of Reserve Bank of India has been ever been held accountable for any dereliction of duty in case of any fraud reported by any bank. This is in sharp contrast to the number of frauds exploding in the banking sector in India aggregating to in excess of over Rupees 3 lakh crores.".RTI reveals no officer of RBI has been ever been held accountable for any dereliction of duty in case of any fraud reported by any bank.Plea filed by Subramanian Swamy in Supreme Court.The petition highlights ten specific scams in this regard: (i) Kingfisher Scam [FIR No RCBSM 2015E 0006]ii. Bank of Maharashtra Scam [FIR not available in public domain]iii. Uttar Pradesh-based private sugar organization scam [FIR No RCBD1/2018/E/0002]iv. Nirav Modi/Punjab National Bank Scam [FIR No.RC0772018E0001]v. Rotomac Global Private Limited Scam [FIR No RC0062020A0004]vi. Lakshmi Vilas Bank Scam [FIR No.189/19]vii. IL&FS Scam [Criminal complaint bearing no 20 of 2019 before Special Judge, Greater Mumbai]viii. PMC Bank scam [Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing]ix. Yes Bank Limited Scam [FIR No RC2192020E0004]x. First Leasing Company of India Limited Scam [FIR No RCMA1 2017 A 0017].The petitioners have prayed for a court-monitored investigation into the role of RBI officials in the above scams. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.