Banks with over 10 branches to have ombudsman: RBI
Mumbai, Sep 3 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday asked all scheduled commercial banks with more than 10 branches to appoint an Internal Ombudsman (IO). It, however, excluded Regional Rural Banks (RRB) from the requirement.
"The IO shall examine customer complaints which are in the nature of deficiency in service on the part of the bank, that are partly or wholly rejected by the bank," the RBI said in a release introducing the Internal Ombudsman Scheme, 2018.
The IO mechanism was set up with a view to strengthening the internal grievance redress system of banks and to ensure that the complaints of the customers are redressed at the level of the bank itself, the apex bank said.
With an IO, the redress will be done by an authority placed at the highest level of bank's grievance redressal mechanism. It will minimize the need for the customers to approach other fora for redressal, the RBI said.
As a part of this customer-centric approach, the banking regulator issued revised directions in the form of 'Internal Ombudsman Scheme, 2018' to enhance the independence of the IO and to strengthen the monitoring system.
The IO Scheme will cover appointment, tenure, roles and responsibilities, procedural guidelines and oversight mechanism for the IO, among other things. Its execution will be monitored by the bank's internal audit mechanism apart from regulatory oversight by RBI.
The RBI had, in May 2015, advised all public sector and select private and foreign banks to appoint IOs as an independent authority to review complaints that were partially or wholly rejected by the respective banks.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Strong evidence' available against Saif attacker, police tell court while opposing his bail plea
Mumbai, Jul 25 (PTI): Police have opposed the bail plea of the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan with a knife and injuring him at his home here in January this year, telling a Mumbai court there was "strong evidence" against the accused.
Citing a Forensic Science Laboratory report, police reiterated before the sessions court their earlier claim knife fragments that got lodged near the actor's spine during the attack as well as a part found at the crime spot have matched with the weapon recovered from the accused, Shariful Islam.
These three pieces were part of the same weapon (knife) used to attack the filmstar, the police said in a written response to the accused's plea submitted in the court on Thursday (July 24).
Khan was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 during a robbery attempt.
The 54-year-old actor underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital to remove a piece of knife that got lodged near his spine during the attack. He was discharged from the private hospital after five days.
Shariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested two days later for allegedly stabbing Khan.
The police, in their response, highlighted that the accused is a Bangladeshi citizen residing illegally in India.
If granted bail, there was a possibility that he may flee India and not appear before the court during the trial. The crime committed by the accused is of a "very serious nature, and strong evidence" is available against him, they argued.
In his bail plea, filed through advocate Vipul Dushing, the accused asserted he was innocent and had no prior criminal record.
Investigation into the case has practically concluded with only the filing of a chargesheet pending, the accused contended while seeking bail.
The alleged attacker has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to house trespass, robbery and dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous injury.
