The total penalty on the banks stands at Rs 1.5 crore, RBI said in a release.

Futher Rs 10 lakh penalty each has been imposed on Andhra Bank, Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of Hyderabad and Yes Bank.

Penalty of Rs 5 lakh each has been imposed on HDFC Bank and Ratnakar Bank.

The Reserve Bank said it had "carried out a scrutiny of the loan and current accounts of Deccan Chronicle Holdings, in certain branches of the 12 banks in late 2013″.

Based on the findings of the scrutiny, the RBI issued showcause notices to these banks in March 2014, to which the individual banks submitted written replies.

"After considering the facts of each case and the individual bank's reply, as also, the personal submissions etc, by some of the banks...the RBI came to the conclusion that some of the violations were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty," the RBI said in a release.

The RBI, however added that "this action is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into between the concerned bank and the borrower".

PTI