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Home › Indian Laws › Banking Regulation Act, 1949 › Section 35
Banking Regulation Act, 1949 · Section guide

Section 35: Inspection

Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 18 September 2026

Section 35 — Inspection. Empowers RBI to inspect a banking company and its books/accounts and requires officers/employees to produce records and information; the inspection. Can lead to supervisory action and feeds several later powers.

Official statute linkedProvision-specific anatomyPractical case + evidence file
Official text: DFS consolidated Act

Statutory structure and provision map

This map is a provision-specific explanation, not a substitute for the exact statutory text.

Core statutory rule

Empowers RBI to inspect a banking company and its books/accounts and requires officers/employees to produce records and information.

Condition / limitation

the inspection can lead to supervisory action and feeds several later powers.

Source and effective-date control

Apply the wording of Section 35 that was in force on the event date; use the official Act and any applicable commencement/amending instrument linked on this page.

Professional application

Explain inspection/investigation powers, information duties, reports, hearing and resulting measures.

Evidence / working-paper checklist

  • Section 35 evidence: RBI notice/direction/inspection requisition.
  • Section 35 evidence: books, returns and source data supplied to RBI.
  • Section 35 evidence: management response and remediation evidence.
  • Section 35 evidence: effective-date mapping for every operative paragraph of the RBI instrument.

Retain the event date and source version with the file so the conclusion remains reproducible after later amendments.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • For Section 35, avoid treating an RBI direction as advisory.
  • For Section 35, avoid answering an inspection request from summary data that cannot be reconciled to books.
  • For Section 35, avoid implementing a circular without checking applicability, effective date and supersession.

Related sections inside the Act

Section 35A — Power of the Reserve Bank to give directionsSection 36 — Further powers and functions of Reserve BankSection 34 — Accounting provisions not retrospectiveSection 34A — Production of documents of confidential natureSection 35AA — Central Government authorisation for RBI directions to initiate insolvency resolution

Use these links to read Section 35 in its statutory sequence, especially where the provision imports definitions, approvals, appeals, penalties or winding-up consequences from neighbouring sections.

Current-law source control

Source control: Section 35 is anchored to the official DFS consolidated text; later changes require separate Gazette verification.

Dated matters: verify any later Gazette, RBI direction or binding judgment affecting Section 35 on the event date.

Professional reading note

Professional reading note — Section 35 should be applied as a sequence, not as an isolated heading. Start with the factual trigger

for inspection, then test the operative proposition: Empowers RBI to inspect a banking company and its books/accounts and requires officers/employees to produce

records and information. Next confirm the limiting or interaction point: the inspection can lead to supervisory action and feeds several later powers.

The working file should be capable of showing why the section applies to the relevant bank or person, which statutory version governs

the event date, and which documentary record proves the conclusion. Useful evidence on this page includes Section 35 evidence: RBI notice/direction/inspection requisition

and Section 35 evidence: books, returns and source data supplied to RBI. Read the provision in sequence with Section 35A — Power

of the Reserve Bank to give directions and Section 36 — Further powers and functions of Reserve Bank. This method keeps the

legal answer tied to the provision itself while allowing RBI directions, rules and later instruments to be layered on only where their

own scope actually applies.

Disclaimer

This Finin2min page is an educational and professional reference. Banking regulation is fact-, entity- and date-sensitive. Verify the current Act, Gazette amendments and commencement notifications, applicable RBI Rules/directions and the transaction record before acting or filing.