The Delhi High Court on Friday sought response of the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India on a petition seeking to stop banks from sharing PAN and financial transaction data of clients with credit rating agencies without their formal consent.

Right to privacy

A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao was hearing a plea which claimed that sharing of a customer’s Permanent Account Number (PAN) and other transactions with credit rating agencies like TransUnion CIBIL affects the person’s right to privacy.

The petition by one Abhijit Mishra claimed that banks use the credit reports given by agencies like CIBIL to decide whether to grant loans, issue credit cards and even fix the rate of interest to be charged. The plea has contended that the Central Board of Direct Taxes has not issued any notification regarding sharing of customers’ PAN and other transaction details by the banks with any private or non-government entity. The petition states that even the Income Tax Act, 1961, does not allow sharing of PAN data of citizens with agencies like CIBIL for the development of a credit score.