Supreme Court Issues 20 Directions to Ease KYC for Visually Impaired and Acid Attack Victims
Debayan Roy (Bar  and  Bench) 30 April 2025
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that digital access is a fundamental right and issued a slew of directions to ease the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process for acid attack survivors who may have suffered eye injuries and other persons who may suffer visual impairment or low vision. 
 
A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan passed the judgment on two public interest litigation (PIL) petitions filed on these issues. 
 
The Court held that the government must ensure that digital processes such as KYC are universally accessible to all, including persons who may have suffered facial disfigurements or persons with disabilities. This is guaranteed under Articles 21 (right to life and liberty), 14 (right to equality) and 15 (protection against discrimination) of the Constitution of India, the Court said. 
 
Pertinently, the Court has declared the right to digital access is an intrinsic component of the right to life under Article 21.
 
The Court revealed that it has issued several directions to ensure that those with visual impairment or other such challenges are able to complete the KYC process. 
 
"We have held there is need for change in KYC processes for the disabled. We have given 20 directions. The petitioners who suffer from acid attacks and blindness have been unable to complete KYC process ... due to facial disfigurements. Constitutional provisions confer a statutory right on the petitioners to be accommodated in the KYC process. It is imperative that digital KYC guidelines are revised with the accessibility code. In the contemporary era, where economic opportunities etc. is through digital (access) Article 21 needs to be re-interpreted in light of such technology and the digital divide increases," the Court said.
 
A copy of the detailed judgment is awaited. 
 
One of the petitions before the Court concerned an acid attack survivor with severe eye-disfigurement and facial-damage, who had in July 2023 approached ICICI Bank to open a bank account.
 
However, she was deemed to be incapable of completing the Digital KYC/e-KYC process due to the bank's insistence on completing the requirement of capturing a "live photograph" by blinking her eyes.
 
The mandatory requirement of proving a customer's 'liveness' under the RBI-regulated KYC process can only be fulfilled upon a customer blinking his/her eyes before the camera, as per the petition.
 
The bank later made an exception for the petitioner only due to an uproar over the issue on the social media.
 
Many such survivors face similar issues, the PIL said while seeking directions to the Centre for fresh guidelines on alternative methods or means to conduct the Digital KYC/e-KYC process for such acid-attack survivors.
 
The petitioner also said that a direction should be issued to all public and private establishments conducting Digital KYC/e-KYC process to effectively implement the guidelines that may be issued.
 
Courtesy: Bar & Bench
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