NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court recently ordered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to file an affidavit, clarifying the guidelines issued to commercial banks on the required response to requests for information from cyber cells of law enforcement authorities in case of fraudulent transactions.
Underscoring the need for a diligent approach after fraudulent transactions, a bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh urged banks to provide the details of their procedure to answer questions raised by probe agencies.
The court also directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to submit an affidavit, clarifying whether guidelines have been issued to banks regarding questions raised by the police and ensuring compliance with orders of police authorities or courts.
The court heard a batch of petitions related to cases of innocent customers falling victim to fraudulent activities.
“It is clear that whenever information is requested by the cyber crime cells of law enforcement authorities, banks must respond to the same in a diligent manner,” the court said in an order on Tuesday.
“The RBI will file a specific affidavit as to whether there are any guidelines that have been issued by it to banks in relation to questions raised by the police and to ensure compliance with any orders passed by police authorities or courts,” the court said. noted
The court’s commitment comes after revelations by the counsel representing the Delhi Police, revealing the recurring theme of banks not promptly dealing with inquiries raised by the agency regarding compliance with orders issued by law enforcement or judicial authorities.
The legal representative highlighted the hurdles faced in prosecuting cases where the main accused is located in various states, including West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra. The geographical spread presents challenges for the Cyber Crime Cell of the Delhi Police in dealing with legal proceedings across these jurisdictions.
Acknowledging the need for cooperation between cybercrime cells spanning different states, Justice Singh issued a directive to the Center to organize a meeting of these units with the aim of strengthening coordination in dealing with cases related to fraudulent transactions. The
The court ordered that this decision meeting be held before 3:00 p.m. on December 20, 2023.
“A joint meeting should be convened by the concerned Joint Secretary, MHA, of all cyber crime cells in various states to have some coordination among them to deal with such fraudulent transaction cases. The said meeting should be held before December 20, 2023 at 3 p.m. hour,” the judge said in his order passed on November 24.
The hearing on the matter will resume on February 1, 2024.