(With inputs from Mumbai, Indore, Lucknow, Kolkata, Ahmedabad,

, Delhi, and Bengaluru)

Watch: Banker asks multiple questions while depositing old notes

The public, already reeling from the pain of demonetisation, was put to further hardship on Tuesday by the previous day's RBI circular that deposits above Rs 5,000 in old 500 and 1,000 notes would be credited to bank accounts “only after questioning the tenderer, on record, in the presence of at least two officials of the bank as to why this could not be deposited earlier and receiving a satisfactory explanation“.There were reports from across the country of officials at many bank branches refusing to accept deposits in excess of Rs 5,000. A top official at a very large government bank acknowledged that instructions had gone out not to accept such deposits unless two officers were present. Officers at some other banks were told by their bosses that they should be completely “satisfied“ before crediting the money ­ prompting most of them to err on the side of caution. A bank manager said, “I don't want to take a risk and later be questioned or investigated for having accepted more than Rs 5,000. `Satisfaction' is a subjective term. Several bank officials pointed out that branches outside cities and big towns often have just one officer, who is the manager, while the rest are clerical staff. “Where's the question of having two officers present?" said one of them. Finance minister Arun Jaitley 's assurance late on Monday that “no questions will be asked for any amount of old currency that is deposited in one go“ seems to have cut little ice with bank officials.“The RBI circular and government notification are very clear about the protocol to be followed ­ and there's been no amendment since. The FM may have said something, but we haven't got anything on paper.“Depositors wanted to know why the government had changed its mind about the amount and the rules after initially giving the public till December 30 to deposit any amount. Suddhojit Mitra of Bengali Colony, Burari, seemed to sum things up when he said in exasperation, “I must find ways to deposit my money , and quickly , before they make a new rule.“ The banks had their own problems. Some were confused about what to do while some didn't have the manpower to provide two officials to question the customer.Times ViewThe finance minister surely could not have believed that bank managers would go against a circular issued by the RBI merely on the basis of something he said to a news agency. And yet, the government did nothing on Tuesday to get the circular amended. That leaves us with only two possible scenarios. One is that the finance minister was not serious when he said no questions would be asked of those depositing more than Rs 5,000 in old notes if they did so in one go. The other is that he did mean what he said, but did nothing about it. Either way, it raises questions about how seriously we should take announcements made by top functionaries of the government. And that's not a happy state of affairs.