Are banks empowered enough to put restrictions on blind customers thereby depriving the latter of the right to operate their accounts like any other ‘normal’ (non visually impaired) person? That’s the question visually impaired Prasanna Kumar Pincha posed to the Guwahati High Court.

In a prompt response, the Guwahati High Court issued an interim order stating that the petitioner must not only be allowed to open a savings bank account but also be allowed its usual operation.

Pincha, a senior Action Aid India employee was recently refused the facility of opening an account in the Guwahati branch of I.D.B.I. on the grounds that he is a blind person. On insistence from Pincha, the bank agreed, but demanded a written undertaking. He said, “The bank did this in gross misinterpretation of an order dated September 5, 2005 issued by the Deputy Commissioner (Disabilities), Government of India and had tried to unilaterally impose arbitrary and unfair conditions, leaving me to wonder if I was a lesser citizen of India because of my blindness.”

Faced with such restriction from his bank, Pincha, dragged the I.D.B.I. authorities, the Reserve Bank of India, the Indian Banks Association and the Union of India to the court.

Admitting the petition, Justice Ranjan Gogoi of Guwahati High Court passed an interim order directing the I.D.B.I. to allow Pincha to open a savings bank account with cheque book facility as in the case of persons with no visual impairment or any other disability.

It needs to be noted here that the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act of 1995 does not provide for any restriction on blind or other physically disabled persons in opening bank accounts.

The case will be heard by the court in detail during future hearings.