Supreme Court seeks Centre, RBI response on PIL for portal to track unclaimed assets, inactive bank accounts

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Union government and various financial regulators on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking the creation of a centralized portal to enable individuals to access a consolidated list of all their financial assets including active, inactive, dormant and inoperative accounts [Aakash Goel vs Reserve Bank of India & Ors.]..A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Union of India, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the National Savings Institute, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).The Court listed the matter for hearing on November 3, by which time the Centre and the financial regulators are required to file their responses..The PIL was filed by one Aakash Goel seeking a comprehensive framework to trace, reconcile and return unclaimed financial assets worth over ₹3.5 lakh crore lying across multiple financial institutions in India. The petitioner submitted that an enormous quantum of unclaimed assets—comprising dormant bank deposits, unclaimed dividends, matured insurance proceeds, unpaid provident fund balances, and unredeemed mutual fund units—has accumulated over the years due to a lack of coordination among regulators and the absence of a centralised, KYC-based portal for citizens or nominees to access information about all their financial holdings at one place. According to plea, while individual regulators have set up isolated mechanisms such as RBI’s “UDGAM” portal for unclaimed deposits or SEBI’s nomination reforms, there exists no unified system connecting these databases across the financial ecosystem.As per the petitioner, this failure has disproportionately impacted vulnerable sections of society, including the poor, senior citizens, and persons with limited education or digital literacy. The petitioner contended that the denial of access to one’s own or inherited financial assets constitutes a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before law and the right to live with dignity, as well as Article 300A, which protects the right to property.Citing extensive data obtained through Right to Information (RTI) applications and official reports, the petition revealed the staggering scale of the issue. The petition submitted that according to RBI reports, the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) has grown from ₹2,795 crore in 2015 to ₹78,213 crore by March 2024.The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) holds over ₹18,000 crore in unclaimed dividends and shares while the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund (SCWF) has received more than ₹7,000 crore between 2016 and 2021. The petition also highlighted that RTI replies from public sector banks showed nearly 29.8 crore accounts lack nominees, with over ₹10 lakh crore in balances at risk of becoming unclaimed. Additionally, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has reported that over two lakh pension accounts, collectively worth ₹30,610 crore, continue to remain without nomination.The petition submitted that this issue is not confined to large investors but also affects small savers and low-income families.Inoperative accounts hold an average balance of only ₹3,918, meaning millions of economically weaker citizens have small sums trapped in dormant accounts. Without mandatory nominee details, effective communication systems or access to death registration data, these funds will remain inaccessible to the rightful heirs, it was submitted..The petitioner had earlier moved the Delhi High Court, which disposed of the plea directing the authorities to treat it as a representation. The High Court had observed that the issue of dormant and unclaimed financial assets was a serious concern affecting millions of depositors and investors.Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that despite the Delhi High Court’s acknowledgment of the issue’s gravity earlier this year, no action has been taken by the authorities on the representation.She contended that while the High Court had recognised the magnitude of the problem and left it to the authorities to formulate a policy, no progress has been made since. As a result, funds belonging to millions of ordinary citizens, continue to remain locked across banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and pension schemes, she argued..Apart from Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta, advocates Vibhor Garg, Anuj P Agarwala and Nitya Gupta appeared for the petitioner..[Read Live Coverage]