Nagpur: Parmatma Co-operative Bank has been served notice by the Nagpur bench of The Bombay High Court for alleged cheating and harassment of around 66 farmers. The single-judge bench or Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari has directed the registrar to verify the charges of excess loan recovery from the farmers.

The farmers had claimed that they have been duped by the co-operative bank. They had taken secured loans for property repair and farming purpose from the said bank. The farmers complained that the bank took advantage of their illiteracy and recovered excessive amounts from them. One of the farmers told the court that he had applied for a loan of Rs.30,000 in 1999, of which he got just Rs. 22,500 from the bank and he was asked by the bank to repay a sum of Rs. 80,518 in July 2007.

The court has issued show cause notices to the CEO of Parmatama Co-operative Bank and the principal secretary of the state's co-operative department.  The managers of Ramtek and Mouda branches, where the alleged excess recovery cases were reported and the regional director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), were also given similar notices.

It is not uncommon to hear such cases, which involve malpractices by officials of Co-operative banks in India. With the mainstream banking not serving the far-flung and rural areas comprehensively and a lot of faith shown by locals, co-operative banks have a good penetration in India. However, most of them are not professionally managed and often run into losses. With ineffective monitoring and a nexus between errant bank officials, policemen and brokers, victims pleas are often ignored and unless they are determined enough the matter gets little attention.

In this case the 66 farmers who were allegedly duped moved the high court, after being repeatedly denied a fair treatment by the bank officials, the state co-operative department and most importantly the police. Looks like their grievances will finally be heard.