The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging violation of borrowers’ privacy rights by non-banking financial corporations (NBFCs) and their digital lending mobile applications (Himakshi Bhargav v. Union Of India & Ors.).
A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the RBI to file its response clarifying the action taken towards enforcement of the RBI Digital Lending Directions 2025.
“We require the RBI to file a counter affidavit, not only in relation to this petition, but also bringing on record the action taken for enforcement of 2025 guidelines. The counter shall also dispose as to what action has been taken by the concerned entities in case any violation of the said directions are found,” the Court stated.
The affidavit shall be filed in six weeks, the Court directed.
The Court noted that the RBI had issued statutory guidelines concerning digital lending activities in India. The guidelines lay down measures for checking the proliferation of data and contain a mechanism for grievance redressal.
The petitioner stated that despite the issuance of the 2025 guidelines, several mobile applications available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store continue to access contact lists and call logs, collect data and deploy coercive consent mechanisms.
“The continued violations have resulted in large-scale invasion of borrower privacy, particularly affecting students, first-time borrowers, gig workers, and economically vulnerable sections of society…The violations disproportionately affect digitally dependent and economically weaker sections, resulting in unequal protection and denial of safeguards guaranteed under Article 14,” the petition states.
The petitioner had filed a complaint to the RBI in this regard. However, no response was received and no action was taken. It is stated that RBI’s inaction on his complaint led to continued violations and constitutes a failure to discharge its statutory and constitutional duties.
Thereby, the 22-year old college student pursuing Political Science (Honours) sought urgent court intervention.
The PIL sought directions to the Union Ministry of Finance, RBI, Google LLC and Apple India.
Further, it sought for directions to RBI to cancel or suspend the licences of non-compliant NBFCs, digital lending applications, lending service providers and other entities. It also sought a status report indicating the number of digital lending platforms found non-compliant and action taken reports against them.
With respect to the applications on Play Store and App Store, the petitioner sought to suspend or delist all digital lending applications that are operating without RBI’s registration or are not complying with the RBI guidelines.
The next date of hearing is April 1.
Leela Palace Udaipur Asked To Pay ₹10 Lakh for Breach of Guest Privacy
Moneylife Digital Team
07 January 2026
Holding Schloss Udaipur Pvt Ltd, which operates The Leela Palace at Udaipur, guilty of deficiency in hospitality services, the Chennai north district consumer disputes redressal commission ordered it to pay ₹10 lakh as compensation to...
From WhatsApp to X: Viral Claims of ₹500 Notes Being Withdrawn from ATMs Are False
Moneylife Digital Team
05 January 2026
The government has categorically rejected claims circulating on social media that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to stop issuing or withdrawing ₹500 currency notes from March 2026, calling the reports false and misleading.
The...
Fraud Alert: LinkedIn Job Scam that Keeps Trapping Professionals
Yogesh Sapkale,
02 January 2026
Vedika, a 22-year-old engineering graduate, has been searching for her first job. She was contacted on LinkedIn by someone claiming to be a recruiter from a well-known IT services company. The profile of the recruiter looked authentic...
No More KYV for Cars: NHAI Ends Post-activation FASTag Checks, Tightens Bank Verification
Moneylife Digital Team
02 January 2026
In a major relief for private vehicle owners, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced the discontinuation of the know-your-vehicle (KYV) process for cars for all new FASTag issuances starting 1 February 2026....
