New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) has moved the Supreme Court seeking an order to discontinue its 33-year-old 'Janata Deposit Scheme' on the ground that it has become economically unviable due to its negative returns for last several years causing a drain on the bank's resources.

The 2001 decision of the bank to discontinue the scheme was challenged by the collectors of deposits through 14 writ petitions in various High Courts across the country and some of them had given orders of status quo, virtually restraining SBI from discontinuing the scheme.

The bank, through counsel Sanjay Kapur, moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of all the petitions pending before the High Courts so that a single judicial order could be passed on the decision of SBI to discontinue the scheme.

A bench comprising Justice Shivaraj V Patil and Justice B N Srikrishna has issued notices on SBI's transfer petition and posted it for further hearing on January 7.

In the year 1971, SBI had started 'Janata Deposit Scheme' (JDS) with a view to mobilise deposits and inculcate saving habits amongst the persons belonging to the low-income group.

The bank, taking into account the very poor results of the savings scheme, conducted a detailed viability study of the scheme and to its horror found that during 1998-2001 the commission paid to the persons who mobilise deposits under scheme was a whopping 58.7 per cent of the deposit growth.