PIL in Delhi HC seeks directions against use of RTGS, NEFT, IMPS for foreign money deposits in India

New Delhi:  A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Delhi High Court on Monday sought directions to ensure that Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), and Instant Money Payment System (IMPS) shall not be used for depositing foreign money in Indian Banks, claiming it will provide finance to terrorists and other anti-national organisations.

Petitioner Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed the PIL under Article 226 seeking appropriate writ order or direction to the Centre to implement a Uniform Banking Code for Foreign Exchange Transaction in order to control black money generation and Benami transaction.

Petitioner submitted that Immigration Rules for VISA are the same whether a foreigner comes in Business Class or Economy Class, uses Air India or British Airways and comes from the US or Uganda. Likewise, deposit details in Indian banks, including foreign bank branches for Foreign Exchange Transaction must be in the same format whether it is export payment in current account or salary in savings account or donation in charity’s current account or service charges payment in youTuber’s accounts. Format should be uniform whether it is converted by Western Union or National Bank or India based foreign bank.

Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) must be issued and all international and Indian banks must send the link through SMS to get FIRC automatically in case Foreign Exchange is being deposited in the account as converted INR. Moreover, only a person or company should be permitted to send Indian Rupees from one bank account to another bank account inside the territory of India through the RTGS, NEFT and IMPS and International Bank should not be allowed to use these domestic banking transaction tools.

Problem is Thus: Suppose thousands of students are entering school in the same uniform. The two self-suicide bombers also dressed up in the same uniform, enter the school at the same time and blow up to kill hundreds of innocent students. In the same camouflaged way, foreign money is being transferred in accounts of separatists, fundamentalists, naxals, maoists, terrorists, traitors, conversion mafias and radical organisations like SIMI, PFI, etc., the petition contended.

The Centre must take steps to ensure that foreign exchange transaction is not done without giving full name, PAN, MDHAAR, Mobile and AADHAAR details of depositor and drawer. This is required to track black money route. Similarly, the Centre must make it compulsory to have Electronic Fund Transfer at the Point of Sale (EFTPOS) or Mobile Phone Payment System (MPPS) for retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and services providers in order to control black money generation. But it has not taken appropriate steps till date, he said, stressing the purpose of the PIL.

–IANS