CHAPTER I: PRELIMINARY (1) This scheme may be called the Banking Ombudsman
Scheme, 1995. (2) It shall come into force on such date as the
Reserve Bank of India may specify. (3) It shall extend to the whole of India. (4) This scheme shall apply to the business in lndia of
every commercial bank (other than Regional Rural Banks) and Scheduled Primary
Co-operative Bank, having a place of business in India, whether such bank is
incorporated in India or outside India. The object of the Scheme is to enable resolution of complaints relating
to provision of banking services and to facilitate the satisfaction, or
settlement of such complaints. (1) The Reserve Bank, if it is satisfied that it is
expedient so to do, may by order suspend for such period as may be specified in
the order, the operation of all or any of the provisions of this scheme, either
generally or in relation to any specified banking company. (2) The Reserve Bank may, by order, extend from time to
time, the period of any suspension ordered as aforesaid by such period, as it
thinks fit. CHAPTER II: Establishment of Banking
Ombudsman The Reserve Bank may appoint one or more persons to be known as Banking
Ombudsman to carry out the functions entrusted to him by or under the scheme.
The Banking Ombudsman shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor,
Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank shall specify the territorial limits, to which the
authority of each of the Banking Ombudsman appointed pursuant to Clause 4 shall
extend. The office of the Banking 0mbudsman will be located at such places as
may be specified by the Reserve Bank. In order to expedite disposal of complaints, the Banking Ombudsman may
hold sittings at other places within his area of jurisdiction. The Banking Ombudsman will be a person of high standing in the legal,
banking, financial services, public administration or management sectors. The Banking Ombudsman will be appointed for a period not exceeding three
years and be eligible for extension for a further period not exceeding two
years subject to an overall age limit of 65 years. Consequent on appointment,
the Banking Ombudsman shall devote his whole time to the affairs of his office.
Provided that the Reserve Bank may, if in its opinion it is necessary so to do,
permit the Banking 0mbudsman to undertake such part time honorary work as is
not likely to interfere with his duties as Banking Ombudsman. The remuneration and other perquisites payable/extended to the Banking
Ombudsman will be determined by the Reserve Bank from time to time and borne by
the banks in such proportion and in such manner as may be determined by the
Reserve Bank. (1) The Banking Ombudsman shall be provided with a
secretariat drawn from banks, Reserve Bank, etc. who will be placed on duty
with the Office of the Banking Ombudsman. (2) The cost of the secretariat will be shared by banks
in such proportion as may be determined by the Reserve Bank. CHAPTER III: JURISDICTION POWERS AND DUTIES OF BANKING OMBUDSMAN The Banking Ombudsman's powers and duties will be:- (a) to receive complaints relating to the provision of banking
services. (b) to consider such complaints and facilitate their
satisfaction, or settlement by agreement, by making a recommendation, or Award
in accordance with this scheme. As regards banking services, the Banking Ombudsman's authority will
include:- (a) all complaints concerning deficiency in service
such as: (i) non-payment/inordinate delay in the payment or
collection of cheques, drafts/bills etc.; (ii) non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small
denomination notes tendered for any purpose, and for charging of commission in
respect thereof; (iii) non-issue of drafts to customers and others; (iv) non-adherence to prescribed working hours by
branches; (v) failure to honour guarantee/letter of credit
commitments by banks; (vi) claims in respect of unauthorised or fraudulent
withdrawals from deposit accounts, etc.; (vii) complaints pertaining to the operations in any
savings, current or any other account maintained with a bank, such as delays,
non-credit of proceeds to parties' accounts, non-payment of depositor
non-observance of the Reserve Bank directives, if any, applicable to rate of
interest on deposits. (viii) complaints from exporters in India such as delays
in receipt of export proceeds, handling of export bills, collection of bills, etc.
provided the said complaints pertain to the bank's operations in India; and (ix) Complaints from Non-Resident Indians having
accounts in India in relation to their remittances from abroad, deposits and
other bank-related matters. (b) Complaints concerning loans and advances only
insofar as they relate to: (i) non-observance of Reserve Bank directives on
interest rates, (ii) delays in sanction/non-observance of prescribed
time schedule for disposal of loan applications and (iii) non-observance of any other directions or
instructions of the Reserve Bank, as may be specified for this purpose, from
time to time. (c) Such other matters as may be specified by the
Reserve Bank from time to time in this behalf. (1) General superintendence and control The Banking Ombudsman shall exercise general superintendence and control
over his office and shall be responsible for the conduct of business thereat. (2) Power to incur expenditure The Banking Ombudsman shall have power to incur expenditure on behalf of
the office. In order to exercise the aforesaid power, the Banking Ombudsman
will draw up an annual budget for his office in consultation with Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank will indicate the shares to be borne by the concerned banks.
The Banking Ombudsman shall exercise the powers of expenditure within the
approved budget. (1) The Banking Ombudsman shall send to the Governor,
Reserve Bank, in May every year, a report containing a general review of the
activities of the office of the Ombudsman during the preceding financial year,
and shall furnish such other information as the Reserve Bank may direct. (2) The Reserve Bank may, if it considers necessary in
the public interest so to do, publish in such consolidated form or otherwise as
it deems fit, the report and the information received from the Banking
Ombudsman. CHAPTER IV: PROCEDURE FOR REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCE (1) Any person who has a grievance against a bank, may
himself or through an authorised representative make a complaint in writing to
the Banking Ombudsman within whose jurisdiction the branch or office of the
bank complained against is located. (2) The complaint shall be in writing duly signed by
the complainant or his authorised representative and shall state clearly the
name and address of the complainant, the name and address of the branch or
office of the bank against-which the complaint is made, the facts giving rise
to the complaint supported by documents, if any, relied on by the complainant,
the nature and extent of the loss caused to the complainant and the relief
sought from the Banking Ombudsman and a statement about the compliance of the
conditions referred to in sub- clause (3) of this clause. (3) No complaint to the Banking Ombudsman shall lie
unless. (a) The complainant had before making a complaint to
the Banking Ombudsman made a written representation to the bank named in the
complaint and either the bank had rejected the complaint or the complainant had
not received any reply within a period of two months after the bank concerned
received his representation or the complainant is not satisfied with the reply
given to him by the bank. (b) The complaints made not later than one year after
the bank had rejected the representation or sent its final reply on the
representation of the complainant. (c) The complaint is not in respect of the some subject
matter, which was settled through the office of the Banking Ombudsman in any
previous proceedings whether received from the same complainant or any one or
more of the parties concerned with the subject matter. (d) The complaint is not the same subject matter, for
which any proceedings before any court, tribunal or arbitrator or any other
forum is pending or a decree or Award or order of dismissal has already been
passed by any such court, tribunal, arbitrator or forum. (e) The complaint is not frivolous or vexatious in
nature. (1) For the purpose of carrying out his duties under
this scheme, a Banking Ombudsman may require the bank named in the complaint to
provide any information or furnish certified copies of any document relating to
the subject matter of the complaint which is or is alleged to be in its
possession. Provided that in the event of the failure of a bank to comply the
requisition made under sub clause (1) the Banking Ombudsman may, if he sees
fit, draw the inference that the information, if provided or copies if
furnished, would be unfavorable to the bank. (2) The Banking Ombudsman shall maintain
confidentiality of any information or document coming into his knowledge or
possession in the course of discharging his duties and shall not disclose such
information or document to any person except with the consent of the person
furnishing such information or document. Provided that nothing in this clause
shall prevent the Banking Ombudsman from disclosing information or document
furnished by a party In a complaint to the other party or parties, to the
extent considered by him to be reasonably required to comply with the
principles of natural justice and fair play in the proceedings. (1) As soon as it may be practicable so to do the
Banking Ombudsman shall cause a notice of the receipt of any complaint along
with a copy of the complaint to the branch or office of the bank named in the
complaint and endeavour to promote a settlement of the complaint by agreement
between the complainant and the bank named in the complaint through
conciliation or mediation. (2) For the purpose of promoting a settlement of the
complaint, the Banking Ombudsman may follow such procedure as he may consider
appropriate and he shall not be bound by any legal rule of evidence. (1) If a complaint is not settled by agreement within a
period of one month from the date of receipt of the complaint or such further
period as he may consider necessary, the Banking Ombudsman may make a
recommendation by reference to what is, in his opinion, fair in all the
circumstances. Copies of the recommendation shall be sent to the complainant
and the bank concerned. (2) The recommendation by the Banking Ombudsman shall
be open to acceptance by the complainant only if he accepts all terms of the
recommendation in full and final settlement of his claim against the bank and
he shall, if he accepts the recommendation, within two weeks from the date of
receipt of the recommendation send his acceptance in writing stating clearly
that he is prepared to accept a settlement in terms of the recommendation is
full and final settlement of his complaint. (3) The Banking Ombudsman shall cause a copy of the
letter of acceptance, received from the complainant to be forwarded to the
bank. The bank shall, if the recommendation is acceptable to it, comply with
the terms of the recommendation immediately on receipt of acceptance of the
terms by the complainant and inform the Banking Ombudsman of the settlement in
terms of his recommendation. If the recommendation is not acceptable to the
bank, it shall inform the Banking Ombudsman within a period of two weeks. (1) Where the complaint is not settled by agreement or
recommendation as provided in clause 18 or 19 as the case may be, within a
period of two months from the date of receipt of the complaint or such extended
date as may be considered necessary by him, the Banking Ombudsman shall inform
the parties of his intention to pass an Award. (2) It shall be open to the parties to submit any
further representations or evidence in support of their case within a period of
15 days from the date of notice referred to in sub- clause (1). (3) The Banking Ombudsman shall pass an Award after
affording the parties reasonable opportunity to present their case. He shall be
guided by the evidence placed before him by the parties, the principles of
banking law and practice, directions, instructions and guidelines issued by the
Reserve Bank from time to time and such other factors which in his opinion are
necessary in the interest of justice. (4) An Award shall be in writing and shall state the
direction/s, if any, to the bank for specific performance of its obligations
and the amount awarded to the complainant by way of compensation for the loss
suffered by him Belong with a summary of the reasons for making the award, Provided that the Banking Ombudsman shall not award any compensation in
excess of that which is necessary to cover the loss suffered by the complainant
as a direct consequence of the commission or omission of the bank, or for an
amount exceeding rupees ten lakhs, whichever is lower. (5) A copy of the award shall be sent to the
complainant and the bank named in the complaint. (6) An Award shall not be binding on a bank against
which it is passed unless the complainant furnishes to it, within a period of
one month from the date of the Award, a letter of acceptance of the award in
full and final settlement of his claim in the matter. Within fifteen days from
the date of receipt by it, of the acceptance in writing of the Award by the
complainant the bank shall comply with the Award and intimate the compliance to
the Banking Ombudsman. (7) The Banking Ombudsman shall report to the Reserve
Bank the non-compliance by any bank of an Award which became binding on it
pursuant to sub-clause (6). The Banking Ombudsman may reject the complaint at any stage if it
appears to him that the complaint is made without any sufficient cause or that
it is not pursued by the complainant with reasonable diligence or that prima
facie, there is no loss or damage or inconvenience suffered by the complainant. CHAPTER V: Miscellaneous If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this
scheme, the Reserve Bank may make such provision not inconsistent with the
Banking Regulation Act 1949 or the scheme, as appears to it to be necessary or
expedient for removing the difficulty.BANKING OMBUDSMAN SCHEME, 1995