CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday issued a stay order on a Single Judge Bench’s interim order directing the management in-charge of Baripada Urban Cooperative Bank (BUCB) to disburse the money of the depositors.
RBI had cancelled the BUCB’s licence after its statutory inspection revealed that the bank was in deep red, ceased to be solvent and any chance of its revival was next to impossible.
The bank had filed an interlocutory application (IA) seeking the Court’s direction for refund of money to the depositors during pendency of its main petition challenging the Central Government’s order rejecting its appeal against the RBI order.
On June 25, Justice Pramath Patnaik issued the interim order after considering the acute financial plights of the depositors in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic along with submissions made on behalf of RBI and State Government. RBI had challenged Justice Patnaik’s order.
Senior advocate Ashok Mohanty argued the case for RBI when its petition was taken up for hearing through video conferencing.
While fixing August 12 as the next date for hearing on RBI’s petition, the division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Biswanath Rath issued the interim stay order on Justice Patnaik’s order.
Justice Patnaik’s order had apparently brought a ray of hope for 72,324 depositors who have been left high and dry since the RBI cancelled the licence of BUCB on October 16, 2014.