Delhi High Court directs RBI and the Centre to address the difficulties of the visually impaired before printing new currency notes, ensuring accessibility in banking, digital payments, and financial inclusion.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has recently taken a crucial step toward financial inclusivity, directing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Government to consider the challenges faced by visually impaired and differently-abled citizens before introducing new currency notes. The ruling comes as part of a batch of petitions seeking improved accessibility in currency, banking services, and digital payment systems for persons with disabilities.
Court’s Directions
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela emphasized that printing new currency is typically a decadal process, allowing policymakers to integrate accessibility measures. The Court specifically observed:
- The RBI and Government must address difficulties faced by vulnerable citizens, particularly the visually impaired, before issuing new currency.
- Suggestions from the High-Powered Committee, constituted under the Court’s orders, must be taken into account to ensure notes are user-friendly for the visually impaired.
- All currency, especially the ₹50 note, should include identification marks accessible to visually impaired persons.
- Banking portals, digital payment systems, and other financial services must be made accessible to persons with disabilities.
The Court underscored that while policymaking, including digital currency introduction and specially designed currency notes, is the prerogative of the Government and RBI, they are expected to seriously consider the Committee’s recommendations.
Recognizing the practical and financial implications, the Court noted that introducing new currency aligned with accessibility guidelines may involve massive costs, including recall and destruction of old notes. Despite these challenges, the Court stressed that:
- The RBI must ensure that both its own directions and Committee’s suggestions are implemented.
- The RBI should obtain six-monthly progress reports from all banks to monitor implementation until the objectives are fully achieved.
Appearance:
Petitioners: Advocates Rohit Dandriyal, Mini Agrawal, Deepesh Aneja, Ila Sheel, S Singh and Areyna Shruti
Central government: Advocates Shiva Lakshmi, Madhav Bajaj, Katyayani Joshi, Esha Kumar, Ishkaran Singh Bhandari, Piyush Yadav, Rajesh Gogna, Monika Arora, Subhrodeep Saha, Prabhat Kumar, Anamika Thakur and Abhinav Verma
RBI: Advocates Ramesh Babu, Manisha Singh, Jagriti Bharti and Tanya Chowdhary
IIT Delhi: Advocate Arjun Mitra
Case Title:
Rohit Dandriyal & Ors v Reserve Bank of India & Anr + Connected matters
W.P.(C) 9728/2017, CM APPL Nos. 39583/2017, 37978/2018, 28795/2021, 36581/2021 & 60528/2023
Read Judgment:
