Uttarakhand man flags adverse CIBIL score for years despite no loan or default; SC rescues him—here's what happened

The Supreme Court has provided relief to a man whose credit score remained “negative” for several years despite having no outstanding loans or payment defaults, according to PTI.

A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan was hearing a petition filed by Uttarakhand resident Rajendra Singh Panwar, who stated that his CIBIL score had been adversely affected since 2020 even though he had not taken any loan or defaulted on payments.

A CIBIL score is a three-digit numerical summary of an individual’s credit history that reflects their creditworthiness.

In his petition, Panwar stated that his credit profile reflected a negative score, which hindered his ability to access financial services.

He argued that two other individuals with the same name had been issued the same PAN number, and their alleged payment defaults were being reflected in his CIBIL records.

Despite obtaining a new PAN, his high-risk score continued due to the linkage between the old and new PANs.

The Supreme Court subsequently sought responses from major banks, including SBI and PNB, directing them to clarify whether Panwar had any outstanding loans or defaults.

In an affidavit submitted before the apex court, Punjab National Bank (PNB) stated that it had not reported any default against Panwar and that its records showed no adverse credit information.

The State Bank of India (SBI) informed the court that it reports to CIBIL only those credit facilities that were actually used by the petitioner and are associated with his updated PAN details.

CIBIL subsequently told the court that Panwar’s records had now been corrected following these clarifications.

183 million Indians now track CIBIL scores: Report

Around 183 million Indians are now actively tracking their CIBIL scores, reflecting a notable shift towards greater awareness and ownership of personal credit. According to TransUnion CIBIL’s latest report, “CIBIL for Every Indian - Uncovering How India Owned Its Credit Journey in 2025,” nearly 75 per cent of these users are based in non-metro areas.

This segment recorded a 28 per cent year-on-year growth as of December 2025, underscoring a change in financial behaviour that is no longer limited to major urban centres.

Additionally, the number of first-time credit monitorers rose by 27 per cent year-on-year, indicating that tracking credit is no longer just a one-time, reactive step tied to loan applications, but is increasingly becoming a regular habit and an essential part of maintaining financial health, the ANI report noted.

Bhavesh Jain, MD and CEO of TransUnion CIBIL, stated, "Historically, many consumers interacted with their credit profile only when they needed a product such as a personal loan or a credit card. Today, monitoring is not related merely to a single transaction but is embraced as ongoing financial hygiene. Consumer focus has shifted from a transactional approach towards an asset to build a strong, sustainable credit profile.

He added, "In effect, India is moving from simply taking credit to truly taking charge. Monitoring is the behaviour that anchors this change, turning the CIBIL Score from a static number into a live indicator of financial health that consumers actively track and improve."