The Delhi High Court has agreed to review a PIL requesting the establishment of comprehensive guidelines to combat the rise of frauds through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The bench, comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, has issued notices to the Union government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in response to the plea filed by retired Central government employee Pankaj Nigam. The PIL, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by advocate Nishchaya Nigam, aims to ensure effective measures against UPI-based frauds, citing the risks posed to citizens’ finances and fundamental rights under Article 21.
The petition highlights the lack of a robust system to prevent, report, and recover from online financial scams, leaving victims struggling for resolution. It emphasizes that the public is increasingly falling prey to fraudsters through the UPI platform, with threats extending beyond financial loss to impacting life and liberty. The petitioner himself was defrauded of Rs 1,24,616 while seeking rental accommodation online, underscoring the urgent need for better safeguards and redressal mechanisms.
Referring to the inadequacies of NPCI’s UPI Dispute Redressal Mechanism, the petition points out the limitations in providing real-time access to crucial transaction details, hindering victims from tracking complaints effectively. It stresses the absence of a streamlined complaints mechanism, forcing victims to navigate a complex web of authorities for resolution, ultimately delaying recovery efforts and discouraging timely reporting of cyber crimes.
The PIL advocates for mandatory participation in UPI transactions only for fully KYC-compliant bank accounts to prevent anonymous fraudulent activities. It also calls for the establishment of an integrated platform connecting various stakeholders to streamline reporting and enhance recovery processes. Additionally, the plea seeks directives to preserve transaction-related information for swift investigations and prosecutions, alongside the inclusion of smaller UPI fraud cases in the e-Zero FIR initiative for automatic case registration.
