KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday made it clear that the state government was free to proceed with the steps for amalgamation of the district cooperative banks to form Kerala Bank.
The court, however, observed that no order for amalgamation shall be passed by the Cooperative Society Registrar as ordered by the High court. The court had only interdicted the Registrar in passing orders on final amalgamation. The court passed the order on a plea by the state government seeking to allow the Registrar to pass orders on the merger resolution passed by various district cooperative banks for amalgamating into the new bank.
The Advocate General submitted that the Reserve Bank of India while its final nod for forming Kerala
Bank had asked the state government to complete the entire process of the amalgamation by March 31, 2020. The AG, therefore, pleaded that the Registrar be allowed to pass final orders in this regard.
Will proceed after HC cases are disposed of, says minister
T’Puram: Though the Reserve Bank has given green signal for amalgamation of 13 district cooperative banks into Kerala Bank, the process can be completed only after ongoing cases related to the bank’s formation are disposed of by the High Court, Cooperation Minister Kadakampally Surendran told the assembly on Tuesday. The minister said the transformation of loan structure from three-tier to two-tier system will be highly beneficial to customers. Kadakampally said permission had been sought from RBI to mobilise NRI investment into Kerala Bank. He added that formation of Kerala Bank would not affect any primary cooperative societies. The government has time till March 31, 2020, to fulfil the conditions placed by the RBI on Kerala Bank formation. He said as many as 21 cases have been filed in the High Court against the formation of Kerala Bank.