The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on a PIL seeking the creation of a centralized online portal to allow individuals to access a consolidated list of all financial assets held across entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and other financial regulators.

A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order on a petition filed by Aakash Goel.

Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the matter affects small investors and depositors, highlighting that nearly ₹3.5 lakh crore remains unclaimed. She pointed out that the funds, once declared inoperative for 1–3 years and unclaimed for 7–8 years, are not being returned to the rightful beneficiaries despite representations made to the authorities.

Gupta also informed the Court that a similar plea was earlier moved before the Delhi High Court, which had acknowledged the issue’s significance but declined to intervene, leaving it to the concerned authorities.

The Supreme Court has listed the matter for further hearing on November 7.

Apart from the Union of India and RBI, the petition names SEBI, IRDAI, the National Saving Institute, EPFO, PFRDA, and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs as respondents.

The plea seeks directions to establish a centralized portal, post e-KYC verification, for individuals to trace active, inactive, dormant, or inoperative financial assets under different regulators, ensuring the return of unclaimed funds. It also urges the regulators to issue guidelines mandating nominee details for each asset and to coordinate with the Home Affairs and Food and Public Distribution departments to identify deceased account holders and locate their families.

Notably, in 2022, the Supreme Court had issued notice in a similar petition filed by financial journalist Sucheta Dalal concerning unclaimed deposits in dormant accounts.