High Court declines to Entertain Plea to Replace ATM Cards with More Secure Ones

The Delhi HC on Tuesday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking replacement of ATM cards with purportedly more secure dynamic data authentication (DDA) cards, saying it was a policy decision & courts willn't interfere in it. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel & Justice C Hari Shankar asked the petitioner Non Governmental Organization (      NGO) to either withdraw the plea or face dismissal with costs.

It told the Non Governmental Organization ( NGO), Anti Corruption Council of India, that it can implement use of dynamic data authentication (DDA) cards by either starting its own bank or becoming a customer of a bank which offers such cards.

The bench said it cannot order all banks in the country to switch to dynamic data authentication (DDA) cards just because the petitioner Non Governmental Organization ( NGO) feels they are more secure. “You start a bank & do it,” it said. Advocate Farman Ali Magray, appearing for the Centre, & the counsel for  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) opposed the plea, saying it was a policy decision.

Taking note of the court’s  view, the Non Governmental Organization ( NGO) withdrew its petition. The Non Governmental Organization ( NGO), in its plea, had contended that incorporation of latest encryption methods like dynamic data authentication ( DDA) cards could help prevent ATM frauds like card skimming or cloning. According to the petition, data revealed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July indicated that ATM frauds in 2018-19 led to victims losing Rs 4.8 crore in Maharashtra & Rs 2.9 crore in Delhi.

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