The Delhi High Court has temporarily stopped the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from implementing a second level of human review for consumer complaints dismissed by its banking ombudsman. This decision came in response to an appeal filed by the RBI against a ruling that mandated such reviews to be conducted by legally trained professionals with specific experience criteria.
The division bench, led by Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, found merit in the RBI’s arguments and ordered that the directions mentioned in the previous judgment remain stayed. Additionally, the court suspended the requirement for the RBI Deputy Governor to submit a compliance affidavit by a specified date, setting the next hearing for March 17.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, representing the RBI, argued that the single judge had exceeded the permissible scope of judicial review. He emphasized that the RBI-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021, is a statutory framework that can only be altered by authorized entities under the relevant enactments.
In a previous ruling dated November 27, 2025, Justice Prathiba M. Singh had expressed concerns about complaints being rejected through automated responses and stressed the need for an effective Ombudsman Scheme within the RBI. The judgment stemmed from a petition filed by advocate Sarwar Raza, who alleged mistreatment and wrongful rejection of his complaints by the RBI Ombudsman following a disputed credit card transaction.
