New Delhi, Sept. 17 -- A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, challenging the Centre's newly notified framework allowing Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on specified high-value commercial UPI transactions, contending that the additional cost could ultimately be passed on to consumers. The petition, filed by advocate Anjan Datta, seeks quashing of the notifications issued by the Union finance ministry on September 14 and 15 and has made the Centre, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the UPI & Services Steering Committee respondents. The plea argues that although the new charge is formally imposed within the merchant-payment ecosystem, businesses could seek to recover the additional cost from customers, thereby defeating the stated objective of keeping UPI transactions free for ordinary users. The challenge comes a day after the government and NPCI announced the new MDR framework, under which a 0.4% charge will apply from October 15 to specified person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above Rs.2,000.htc...