Today, On 6th October, The Supreme Court sought responses from the Reserve Bank of India and others on a plea seeking a centralised portal to list all financial assets active, inactive, dormant, or inoperative to help rightful owners trace and reclaim them.
The Supreme Court on Monday requested responses from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other relevant parties regarding a petition aimed at establishing a centralized portal for accessing a comprehensive list of all financial assets, regardless of their status active, inactive, dormant, or inoperative held across various entities.
A bench consisting of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta agreed to hear the case and issued notices to the RBI, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the central government, and others, asking for their replies to the petition.
The matter is scheduled for a hearing in four weeks.
The petitioner’s lawyer informed the court that the issue pertains to small investors or depositors.
Noting that this amount has not been returned to the rightful investors, the counsel stated,
“As on today, it is Rs 3.5 lakh crore of money,”
The lawyer also mentioned that they initially approached a high court regarding this matter.
The lawyer added,
“The high court said it is a very important issue but it is for the authorities to see and no judicial interference is warranted,”
The bench was considering a plea filed by Aakash Goel.
The petition seeks directives for the relevant authorities to issue guidelines for regulated entities, requiring them to capture essential details about nominees for each financial asset.
It also requests the establishment of a seamless system, in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Food and Public Distribution, to inform regulated entities about the death of an account or asset holder and to communicate appropriately with family members in cases where no nominee has been designated.
Additionally, the plea requests that authorities create a centralized portal, allowing individuals to access a complete list of all their financial assets active, inactive, dormant, or inoperative held across entities regulated by the respective authorities, after completing e-KYC requirements.