Some Indian banks ignore the verdict of the Supreme Court

Although the Indian Supreme Court has lifted the ban on using cryptocurrencies imposed by the central bank, some large banks, including HDFC and Indusind Bank, are still arbitrarily refusing to process cryptocurrency transactions. Banks say they are awaiting instructions to officially lift the ban from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Some of the major banks continue to reject crypto transactions

The dispute between the Indian crypto community and the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on the banking ban continues. Although the Indian Supreme Court canceled the RBI circular on March 4, some banks are still refusing to reopen their cryptocurrency accounts.

In an attempt to resolve the situation, Mohammed Danish of Indian law firm Fintech Lawyers sent a letter to Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey and two RBI officials regarding this "arbitrary refusal of banking services by certain banks for sale. / purchase of cryptocurrencies ".

Underlining the order of the supreme court, he wrote: "In most cases, banks have not provided any written communication but have verbally informed their customers that they are waiting for an RBI notification in this regard."

HDFC has been India's largest bank by market capitalization since March and is the country's leading private sector lender for businesses to invest in. Indusind Bank was officially inaugurated in April 1994 by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then finance minister of India.

The lawyer says that bank refusal is illegal and unfair

"Now, given that the aforementioned circular is no longer valid, banks (RBI regulated entities) must comply with the order of the supreme court and begin to provide banking services for the sale / purchase of crypto assets impartially as they provide services for all other legitimate transactions, ”wrote Danish.

The refusal of the banks is absolutely illegal, unjust and arbitrary under the law and the same amounts to an intentional disobedience to the order of the Supreme Court.

Banks awaiting instructions from the RBI

The Economic Times interviewed bankers on the issue of banning cryptocurrencies. Some responded that "Banks would open their channels for cryptocurrency exchange only on explicit regulatory orders from the central bank or parliament, since the legality of these transactions is not yet clearly defined in India."

Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO of the local cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin, explained: "I don't think RBI is instructing banks to support the cryptocurrency industry. They are not obliged to do so according to the verdict of the supreme court. "

The central bank is not happy with the verdict of the supreme court that cancels its circular on the cryptocurrency and is reportedly planning to file a review petition based on the fact that the anonymous nature of the crypto transactions represents a systemic risk to the system. Indian banking.

The RBI has 30 days to file this petition. Meanwhile, it has been reiterated in court that cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, are not banned in India.