Delhi High Court Stays Mandatory Second-Level Review of Rejected RBI Ombudsman Complaints

The Delhi High Court has stayed a single judge’s direction mandating a second level of human review for complaints finally rejected by the RBI Ombudsman.

The requirement involved scrutiny by legally trained personnel, including retired judges or senior lawyers.

Hearing RBI’s appeal, the Division Bench held that the directive prima facie exceeded the High Court’s writ jurisdiction, as the Ombudsman scheme is a statutory framework that can be modified only by authorities empowered under law.

The stay will operate until the next hearing on March 17. 

[RBI v. Sarwar Raza & Ors.]