The Supreme Court today has sought fresh affidavits from the Union government and the Reserve Bank of India in a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking creation of a centralised, searchable database of unclaimed financial assets lying in funds such as the Depositors Education and Awareness Fund, Investor Education and Protection Fund, and Senior Citizens Welfare Fund.

During the hearing, the Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta expressed scepticism over the necessity of judicial intervention, observing that claimants could already approach authorities to recover dues. It remarked, “Why are you worried about this? Whoever has a claim will make a claim to the authorities and get it.”

Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that heirs are often unaware of the existence of such assets. The Court questioned the resistance to greater transparency. Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman submitted that authorities do not deny information to genuine claimants, but raised concerns about making such data publicly accessible. He cautioned that placing such information in the public domain would raise issues of privacy, access, and potential misuse, emphasising the need for a carefully designed policy framework to balance transparency with safeguards.

Taking note of submissions that mechanisms such as Central KYC and RBI frameworks are already in place or evolving, the Court directed the respondents to file updated affidavits. The Court granted four weeks’ time to the parties to file additional affidavits and listed the matter for hearing on May 5, 2026.