The Delhi High Court has sought responses from HDFC Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the RBI Banking Ombudsman on a petition filed by Manmohan Kumar, a customer who claims he was defrauded of ₹74,61,990 through unauthorized virtual debit card transactions.
Justice Vikas Mahajan issued notice to the respondents and directed them to file their counter-affidavits within four weeks. The matter is now scheduled for hearing on July 29, 2025.
“The petitioner alleges that a virtual debit card was fraudulently created in his name without consent, leading to illegal debits of over ₹74 lakh from his account,” the court noted.
According to the petition, the fraudulent transactions occurred between December 20 and December 23, 2024. The petitioner discovered the scam when he visited HDFC Bank’s Model Town branch and found that both his registered mobile number and email ID had been changed without his knowledge.
He stated that the unauthorized changes replaced his actual details with an unfamiliar email ID — loveofhdfc@gmail.com — and a customer care-like mobile number — 18002600/18001600. On December 28, 2024, he immediately reported the fraud to the bank through email.
Read Also:- Delhi HC Orders Google to Remove Deepfake YouTube Channel Mimicking Anjana Om Kashyap
Initially, on January 8, 2025, the bank reversed the disputed amount and credited it back to his account. However, the relief was short-lived. On February 4, 2025, HDFC Bank again debited the same amount, plunging the account into a negative balance of ₹69,69,134.21. The bank cited the transactions as authenticated via OTPs and blamed the petitioner for the security breach.
“Despite raising concerns, the bank denied any deficiency of service, claiming that all transactions were OTP-validated,” the petition stated.
Read Also:- Supreme Court Grants Relief to NEET-PG Candidate Denied Admission Despite Paying Rs. 27 Lakh Fee
Unhappy with this response, the petitioner escalated the matter to the RBI Banking Ombudsman, but his complaint was closed on March 31, 2025, without any relief, again stating no fault on the bank’s part.
“The respondents are shifting blame without explaining how the virtual debit card was created and how my contact details were altered without authorization,” submitted advocate Siddharth Batra, appearing for the petitioner.
Citing the RBI’s 2017 circular on customer protection in unauthorised electronic banking transactions, the petitioner has sought three key reliefs:
- Quashing of the Ombudsman’s closure order dated March 31, 2025
- An independent inquiry by the RBI
- A direction for HDFC Bank to reverse the fraudulent debits
The court has taken note of the serious allegations and will continue hearing the matter in the next session.
Case title: Manmohan Kumar v. RBI & Ors.
Case no.: W.P.(C) 8101/2025
