Justices Girish Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwalla heard a petition by Jaiprakash Kulkarni and Pharma Search Ayurveda Private Limited challenging the Banking Ombudsman’s refusal to order the refund. Citing a July 2017 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular and the bank’s Consumer Protection Policy, the court asserted that customers have zero liability in such cases.

The HC emphasized the rising incidence of cyber fraud, stating, “Both as per the RBI circular and the policy of the bank, a customer has zero liability when unauthorized transactions occur due to a third-party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but elsewhere in the system.”

On October 1, 2022, beneficiaries were added to the petitioner company’s bank account without any OTP sent to the registered mobile number. The next day, ₹76 lakh was transferred to various unknown individuals. The petitioners promptly lodged a complaint with the Cyber Cell and informed the bank manager.

Despite the complaint, the Banking Ombudsman rejected their claim, stating the transactions were conducted using valid credentials. However, cyber cell reports confirmed no OTPs were sent to the petitioners. The court found no negligence or collusion on the petitioners’ part.

The court concluded that both the bank and the petitioners were victims of third-party fraudsters. As per the RBI circular, the petitioners were entitled to a refund. The court directed Bank of Baroda to refund the ₹76 lakh within six weeks, criticizing the Banking Ombudsman for inadequate inquiry.

Next month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make history by presenting her seventh consecutive Union Budget, surpassing Morarji Desai’s record of six consecutive budgets from six decades ago.

Since July 2019, Sitharaman has delivered five complete budgets and one interim budget, matching Desai’s six-budget record. This upcoming budget will be her seventh, breaking the previous streaks of notable predecessors like Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha.

Scheduled for July 22, the Union Budget 2024-25 will also be the first full budget of the third consecutive union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sitharaman’s continuous tenure as Finance Minister has marked significant milestones, including becoming the country’s first full-time woman Finance Minister and the second woman to present the budget after Indira Gandhi.