Petition filed in SC against RBI Governor and others due to contempt of court proceedings

Numerous petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court to seek contempt of court proceedings be initiated against Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, Chief Executive of Indian Banks Association (IBA) and others. It is due to allegedly flouting the Supreme Court's earlier order by turning and declaring the account of the petitioners as Non Performing Assets (NPA) in connection with the moratorium matter.

The petitioners are M/s Azeez Trading Company, Umrazz Trading Corporation, Ajay Hotel and Restaurant, Latur, Maharashtra -- have filed their plea through lawyer Vishal Tiwari and Advocate On Record (AOR) Abhigya.

The respondents, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das and Chief Executive of Indian Banks Association were duty-bound to promulgate and ensure the compliance of the order of this court throughout the country but they deliberately didn't, the petition said.

The order issued on September 3, 2020 by Supreme Court was operational on all lending institutions/banks throughout the country and was passed in favour of all borrowers accounts to grant relief from financial stress during the Covid pandemic, Tiwari said in the petition.

The September 3 order was passed in the presence of the respondents represented by their counsel and all were very well aware of the stay order, the petition said.

The petition also claimed that the act of the respondents had not only disobeyed the court's order but also caused severe irreparable damage and loss to the petitioners.

"The petitioners have lost their image and has been defamed as the possession notice was published in the new papers of his locality which made the dignity of the petitioner lower," it added.

The act of all the respondents has shaken the confidence of the public and has degraded the trust of the borrowers, the petition said. The petitioners have sought the issuance of notice to the alleged contemnors for willfully violating the order of the Supreme Court.

"Punish the contemnors for having committed contempt of this Court," the petition said.

Further, in the petition, Tiwari said that the stay order was passed in for the benefit of stressed borrowers so that they do not suffer in the ongoing financial crisis during the pandemic.