The Delhi High Court issued notice to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), HDFC Bank, and others on a writ petition filed by the petitioner, alleging fraudulent debits totalling ₹74,61,990 from his HDFC Bank account and seeking redress under the RBI’s customer protection framework.
Justice Vikas Mahajan directed the respondents to file their counter-affidavits within four weeks, with rejoinders due two weeks thereafter. The matter is next listed for hearing on July 29, 2025.
According to the petition, between December 20 and 23, 2024, several unauthorized transactions were carried out using a virtual debit card allegedly created in the petitioner’s name without his knowledge or consent. The petitioner discovered the breach when he visited the bank’s Model Town branch and found that both his registered mobile number and email ID had been altered and replaced by contact details linked to HDFC’s customer care.
While the bank initially reversed the fraudulent debits on January 8, 2025, it subsequently re-debited the entire amount on February 4, 2025, leaving the petitioner’s account in a negative balance of ₹69.69 lakh. The petitioner alleged that despite assurances, the bank failed to investigate or explain how the virtual card was created and how his contact information was changed without proper authentication.
The RBI Ombudsman also closed the complaint on March 31, 2025, stating there was no deficiency of service. Challenging this, the petitioner sought a writ of certiorari to quash the Ombudsman’s order and a mandamus directing RBI to initiate an independent inquiry into the bank’s conduct and to restore the funds to his account.
Appearances:
Petitioner: Mr. Siddharth Batra, Mr. Rhythm Katyal, Ms. Archna Yadav and Ms. Shivani Chawla, Advs.
Respondent: None
