Fall in FD interest rate hitting sr citizens hard: PIL
Even as it observed that the interest on fixed deposits have fallen so low that no meaningful return comes from even a sizeable investment, the Madras High Court refused to pass specific orders on a PIL that sought to assuage the plight of senior citizens due to diminishing interest rate offered by banks, particularly nationalised banks.
Chennai
Disposing of the plea on Monday, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu said it was purely a matter of policy and pointed out that the finances of the Union government and the state of the economy decided the rate of interest.
“The full picture of the economy is not available before the court and the balancing act that has to be done by paying higher interest to one group against the rate of interest charged for granting loans or the interest payable on other deposits may be well beyond the court's expertise,” the bench held.
However, it asked the Centre to take care of the interest of senior citizens who are dependent on periodic returns to survive and asked the Additional Solicitor General to forward the order to the appropriate authorities.
The PIL, moved by advocate A Karthika, submitted that citing the pandemic banks had drastically reduced interest rates for term deposits made by senior citizens, which was in the range of 8-9 per cent to merely 2 per cent.
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