ADVERTISEMENTThe court was dealing with a PIL filed in 2022 by financial analyst and journalist Sucheta Dalal for facilitating refund of an estimated ₹45,000 crore of unclaimed public funds lying in government owned funds viz. However, Venkataraman argued that such a proposal was not advisable as it involved sensitive issues relating to privacy and security of public funds. The bench, however, questioned the Centre as to how such unclaimed funds will be disbursed in the absence of a proper mechanism to trace the legal heirs. Bhushan noted that banks, as trustees of public money, are bound to refund unclaimed funds to genuine heirs on the production of a succession certificate. According to Dalal, funds often remain unclaimed because heirs are unaware of the accounts, and banks fail to track them.

Source: The Telegraph March 18, 2026 03:39 UTC