Mumbai, April 28 (TIWN) Indian banks have technically written off a staggering amount of Rs 68,607 crore due from 50 top wilful defaulters, including absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi, according to a reply under RTI from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Prominent RTI activist Saket Gokhale had filed an RTI query with the RBI seeking details of the 50 top wilful defaulters and their current loan status till February 16.

"I filed this RTI because Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur had refused to reply to this starred question asked in the Parliament by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the last Budget Session on February 16," Gokhale told IANS.

Disclosing what the government didn't, the RBI's Central Public Information Officer Abhay Kumar provided the replies on Saturday (April 24), with several startling revelations in the 'diamond-studded list', said Gokhale.

The RBI said that this amount (Rs 68,607 crore) comprises outstanding and the amounts technically/prudentially written off till September 30, 2019.