The Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed a November 27, 2025 order requiring second-level human review by trained legal staff for complaints dismissed by the RBI Ombudsman | Photo credit: Kesavan AN 1612@Chennai
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, hearing an RBI appeal, stayed the November 27, 2025 order passed by a single judge.
“Accordingly, we direct that till the next date of hearing, the directions contained in paragraphs 47(5) and 48 of the impugned order shall be stayed,” the division bench said and listed the matter for further hearing on March 17.
It also remained the directive that the RBI deputy governor should file an affidavit by January 15 stating the steps taken to implement the directions of the single judge.
The single judge, in its judgment dated November 27, 2025, had given several directions to strengthen the system for handling customer complaints by the RBI Ombudsman.
One of these directions was that “when the complaints filed with the RBI Ombudsman are ultimately dismissed, they will undergo a second-level human oversight process by trained legal staff, for example, retired judicial officers, lawyers, etc., who have been legally trained for at least ten years, so that complaints are not dismissed due to minor errors”.
The November order further said that if the grievance mechanism adopted by the Ombudsman is made more effective and efficient, litigation in courts and consumer forums can be significantly reduced.
SG argument
During the hearing before the division bench, Advocate General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the RBI, submitted that the single judge in issuing the relevant direction has gone beyond the ambit of the power exercisable under Article 226 of the Constitution.
He said the scheme that needs to be rewritten is a statutory scheme governed by the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act and the Payment of Settlement Systems Act.
The law officer said that the plan prepared in terms of these laws can only be amended or modified or modified by the authorities empowered to do so under the said laws.
Story for the consumer
The single judge had observed that the rejection of public complaints on technical grounds shows that the functioning of the RBI Ombudsman is not more consumer-friendly.
It had directed the RBI to take steps to ensure that all complaints filed by the customers are not simply dismissed through a mechanized process by the ombudsman.
It also said that if complainants make mistakes, they should be given the opportunity to correct any errors or mistakes.
The single judge had passed the order at the request of a credit card holder who had fallen victim to a fraudulent transaction.
Published on January 8, 2026
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