The Supreme Court Friday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to lay down regulations within six months mandating the steps to be taken by banks with respect to locker facility management.

And in its observations, the Supreme Court held that banks cannot deny customer's interest claiming ignorance about the contents in the locker. Also, it maintained that the current ruling has been vague in relation to locker management.

And now the bench headed by Justice MM Shantanagoudar and Vineet Saran suggested that with the advent of globalization, banks are now even more important in the life of individuals as there has been an increase in both domestic as well as international transactions. And this becomes all the more crucial that RBI comes up with specific and detailed guidelines on the locker management.

The top court said people are hesitant to keep their liquid assets at home as "we are steadily moving towards a cashless economy."

"Thus, as is evident from the rising demand for such services, lockers have become an essential service provided by every banking institution. Such services may be availed of by citizens as well as by foreign nationals," the bench said.

Moreover, due to rapid gains in technology, "we are now transitioning from dual key-operated lockers to electronically operated lockers," the top court said.

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