Delhi HC grants six weeks to RBI to respond to PIL on Uniform Banking Code

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted six weeks' time to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for filing response in a plea seeking directions to implement Uniform Banking Code.

Filed as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the plea brings up the need for a Uniform Banking Code for foreign exchange transfers to regulate benami transactions and the creation of black money.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad granted time to RBI for filing a response.

In the previous hearing, the bench had given notice to RBI and directed that the entire set of documents be given to its standing counsel while taking into account the significance of the matter.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma appearing for Centre submitted that the plea raised a serious issue which required detailed examination.

The plea stated that the "immigration rules for Visa are same whether a foreigner comes in Business Class or Economy Class, uses Air India or British Airways and comes from USA or Uganda. Likewise, deposit details in Indian banks, including foreign bank branches for Foreign Exchange Transaction must be in the same format whether it is export payment in a current account or salary, in a savings account or donation, in a charity's current account or service charges payable in YouTuber's accounts."

"Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) must be issued and all international and Indian banks must send the link through SMS to get FIRC automatically in case the foreign exchange is being deposited in the account as converted INR," it stated.

"Moreover, only a person or company should be permitted to send Indian rupees from one bank account to another bank account inside the territory of India through RTGS, NEFT and IMPS and international banks should not be allowed to use these domestic banking transactions tools," the plea further said.