SC seeks Centre, RBI's reply on plea for loan to sr citizen

The Supreme Court today sought response from the Union finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India and two public sector banks on a plea of a 79-years-old citizen who failed to get loan under the Reverse Mortgage Loan Enabled Annuity Scheme.
The scheme, launched in 2008, seeks to generate income from the property owned and resided in by the senior citizens to enable them to lead an independent and dignified life.
A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the Centre, RBI, Canara Bank and Union Bank of India on the plea seeking to an inquiry against all the lending institutions for slow implementation of the scheme.

Petitioner M P Singh, who is a resident of Uttar Pradesh and an agriculturist by occupation having no fixed annual income, said that he had approached the two banks for a loan since 2014 but nothing had been done.
Singh appeared in person and argued hmself before the bench and alleged that bank officials made unjust demand for processing his application of loan.
The bench then asked him to approach the Allahabad High Court for the relief but on the petitioner's insistence issued notice to all the respondents.

Singh said that he had made representations to the finance ministry as well as the Reserve Bank of India but he got no relief from any quarter.

He said that the banks were not extending the benefits under the scheme meant for the welfare of senior citizens who were under great hardship to meet their day-to-day affairs.
The petitioner said that he had offered mortgaging of his house which measured around 3784 square feet in Mainpuri district but both banks not provided him a loan.
"The purpose behind the reverse mortgage loan scheme is to make the senior citizen strong enough financially to sustain the cost of health-care facilities as the dependency in the old age is incremental and any delay in processing of the application is against the very purpose of the scheme," his plea said.

He also sought direction for making banking system for consumer-friendly and time-bound processing of loan applications.