Banks have no power in law to either withhold or retain a passport issued by a foreign country or the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, the High Court of Karnataka has said.
Even if a customer voluntarily hands over the passport or the OCI card to the bank as a security measure, the bank will have to transmit these documents to the passport authority or the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FFRO) within 15 days to take action as per the law as the banks lack power to even keep these documents in their custody, the court said.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Koshi Verghese, an Indian-born British national and OCI card holder, who is a director of city-based real estate firm.
