Supreme Court Probes ₹3.5 Lakh Crore Unclaimed Assets, Seeks Central Portal

New Delhi – The Supreme Court of India has initiated a significant judicial examination into the escalating issue of unclaimed financial assets, estimated to be a staggering ₹3.5 lakh crore, lying dormant across India's financial ecosystem. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta has issued notices to the Union Government and a host of top financial regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), seeking their response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that calls for systemic reform.

The PIL, filed by activist and entrepreneur Aakash Goel, proposes the creation of a comprehensive legal and institutional framework, headlined by a centralized, secure digital portal. This platform would empower individuals and their legal heirs to trace and reclaim a wide array of financial assets—from dormant bank accounts and matured insurance policies to unclaimed dividends and provident fund balances—that are currently scattered and inaccessible.

The case, AAKASH GOEL Versus RESERVE BANK OF INDIA AND ORS. , has brought renewed judicial focus to a systemic issue that impacts millions of Indian households, particularly the vulnerable and economically disadvantaged.

The Core of the Petition: A Violation of Constitutional Rights

Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta presented a compelling argument before the bench, highlighting the sheer scale of the locked-up capital. "As of today, it is Rs.3.5 lakh crores of money - it is not being given back to those people, beneficiaries, investors, etc.," she submitted, emphasizing the failure of the current fragmented system to return wealth to its rightful owners.

The petition frames this failure not merely as an administrative lapse but as a profound infringement on fundamental and constitutional rights. It argues that the absence of a unified mechanism to locate and claim these assets violates: - Article 300A (Right to Property): The state's inaction effectively deprives citizens of their property without a clear, accessible procedure for its recovery. - Article 21 (Right to Life and Dignity): For many, especially senior citizens and heirs from lower-income backgrounds, these unclaimed funds could be crucial for a dignified existence. The petition contends that the state has a positive obligation to facilitate access to these assets. - Article 19(1)(a) (Right to Information): Citizens have a right to information about their own financial holdings, a right that is currently obstructed by siloed data across various regulated entities. - Article 14 (Right to Equality): The plea points out a stark imbalance. While financial institutions utilize centralized credit databases like CIBIL to pursue borrowers aggressively, no equivalent system exists for citizens to track their own assets, placing them at a significant disadvantage.

The petition seeks a multi-pronged solution, urging the Court to direct regulators to establish an e-KYC enabled centralized portal. Beyond mere access, it calls for mandatory guidelines for capturing nominee details for every financial asset and a proactive system, in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs, to identify deceased asset holders and facilitate communication with their legal heirs.

A History of Inaction and Piecemeal Solutions

This is not the first time the issue has reached the apex court. In 2022, a similar PIL filed by financial journalist Sucheta Dalal, which also sought public disclosure of information on unclaimed assets, resulted in a notice from the Court. That matter remains pending, and the current PIL by Mr. Goel adds significant momentum to the call for a comprehensive overhaul.

Ms. Gupta informed the bench that the petitioner had previously approached the Delhi High Court. While the High Court acknowledged the gravity of the matter, it concluded that the issue was within the purview of the authorities and did not warrant judicial intervention, directing them to treat the plea as a representation. According to the petitioner, subsequent representations and RTI queries to RBI and other regulators yielded no concrete action beyond references to existing, inadequate guidelines.

Current mechanisms, such as the RBI's UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access Information) portal, have been criticized as partial solutions. UDGAM, for instance, primarily covers bank deposits that have been unclaimed for over ten years, overlooking the vast pool of accounts that are merely "inoperative" but not yet transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF). This fragmented approach, the PIL argues, fails to address the root cause of the problem.

Legal and Systemic Implications

The Supreme Court's decision to issue notice signals a potential shift from administrative discretion to judicial mandate. The case has profound implications for financial, banking, and succession law. A directive from the Court could compel regulators to collaborate on an unprecedented scale, forcing interoperability between disparate systems governed by the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, and EPFO.

For legal practitioners, particularly those in estate planning, inheritance, and consumer law, the outcome could be transformative. A centralized portal would drastically simplify the process of asset discovery for legal heirs, reducing prolonged and often fruitless searches that burden the legal system. It would also necessitate a re-evaluation of how financial institutions manage customer data, nominee information, and protocols for handling dormant or inactive accounts.

The plea highlights the accumulation of these funds despite the existence of various awareness and protection funds, such as the DEAF and the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF). The amount of unclaimed money has reportedly ballooned from approximately ₹13,000 crore in 2016 to the current estimate of over ₹3.5 lakh crore, indicating that existing frameworks are insufficient to stem the tide.

As stated in the plea, "The said unclaimed financial assets have been accumulated primarily due to the absence of a centralised portal...which would allow individuals...to access all the requisite details pertaining to their respective financial assets such as bank deposits, shares and dividends, insurance and pension funds amongst others."

The matter is scheduled for its next hearing on November 7, when the responses from the Union Government and the array of financial regulators will set the stage for a crucial legal debate on the state's responsibility to unlock India's vast pool of "trapped wealth."