Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, representing the banks, argued that the directive was not feasible. “In Assam alone, we have 4,000 ATMs. We can’t have one guard per ATM
The Supreme Court has ruled that it is not practical to deploy security guards at all ATMs round the clock, setting aside a direction issued by the Gauhati High Court in December 2013. The order, which required banks to ensure constant security at ATM kiosks and allow only one customer at a time, had been challenged by the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, and the Bank of India.
In December 2016, the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court’s directive on security guards, and on Wednesday, a bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran made the interim order absolute.
Banks Cite Practical Challenges
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, representing the banks, argued that the directive was not feasible. “In Assam alone, we have 4,000 ATMs. We can’t have one guard per ATM. The worldwide recognised system is to have CCTV surveillance, which we are doing,” he told the court.
Mehta further submitted that both the Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Finance supported the banks’ position, affirming that the requirement for security guards at all ATMs was impractical. He also pointed out that the banks had complied with other directives issued by the High Court.
The High Court’s original order stemmed from a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL), based on a report in The Assam Tribune. The report detailed an incident where a person lost ₹35,000 from his account just minutes after withdrawing ₹5,000 from an ATM.
High Court’s Security Directives
Acting on a security protocol suggested by the Assam Director General of Police, the High Court had issued several directives, including:
Deployment of security guards at all ATMs to enforce queues and allow entry for only one customer at a time.
Ensuring CCTV cameras function round the clock, with alarm systems to indicate any malfunction.
Prohibiting customers from entering ATM chambers with helmets, mufflers, or caps that could conceal their identity.
Conducting background checks on temporary workers, including canteen employees, in banks.
Later, when the banks filed a review petition, the High Court modified its order, stating that security guards need to be deployed only when ATMs are opened. However, given that ATMs operate 24×7, the Supreme Court found the requirement impractical and set aside the directive.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling, banks will now continue to rely on CCTV surveillance and other technological measures to ensure ATM security instead of deploying security personnel at every location.