JUSTICE V.K.JAIN, PRESIDING MEMBER (ORAL)

          The complainants who are husband and wife, booked a housing loan from the OP namely Axis Bank, to the extent of Rs.30,37,202/-.  In order to secure the said loan, the complainants deposited the original title documents of a residential flat no. 218 in Block-D, Pocket-A of Shalimar Bagh, Delhi with the OP.  The said loan having been repaid, the complainants approached the OP for returning the aforesaid title documents.  The title documents having been lost or misplaced, were not returned to the complainants.  Being aggrieved, the complainants are before this Commission seeking the following reliefs:

1. To direct the opposite party to give market price of the flat in lieu of original papers retained by them.

2. To direct the respondent to give damage of Rs.1.10 Crore (One Crore & Ten Lacs) towards damaged caused on account of loss of property papers which devalued the property in open market and to waive off the balance outstanding in the loan account.

3. To direct the responded to compensate the loss of business to the tune of Rs.30 lakhs (Thirty lacks) for non-completion of commitments/obligations of the parties due to non-availability of funds as other financial institutions have refused to grant credit facility in the absence of original property documents.

4. To direct the Chairman, CIBIL “NOT TO DISPLAY THE NAME OF APPLICANT & CO APPLICANT AS DEFAULTER” as the fault is on the part of the Bank.

5. To direct Axis Bank Ltd. to pay interest & EMI of loan sanctioned & disbursed by Yes Bank Ltd. for taking over the balance outstanding.

6. To direct the respondent to pay a sum of Rs.20,00,000/- (Rs. Twenty Lacs Only) for mental agony to the entire family due to loss of papers.

7. Pass an order directing the opposite parties to pay cost of litigation to the complainant.

8. Pass any other order/orders which this Hon’ble Commission may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case in favour of the complainant and against the opposite party/parties, in the interest of justice.

2.      The complaint has been resisted by the OP namely Axis Bank Ltd. which has admitted the loan extended to the complainants as well as the repayment of the said loan.  It is also admitted that the title documents of residential flat number 218 in Block-D, Pocket-A of Shalimar Bagh, Delhi were deposited with the OP at the time of sanction of the loan.  It is also not disputed that the aforesaid documents are not traceable with the OP. 

3.      It would thus be seen that the OP namely Axis Bank Ltd. has lost or misplaced the original title documents of the residential flat owned by the complainants.  The OP ought to have kept the aforesaid valuable documents in safe custody and ought to have ensured that the same are duly returned to the borrower after repayment of the loan.  That having not been done, it is evident that the OP has been negligent or deficient in rendering services to the complainants who were their consumers. 

4.      The learned counsel for the OP submits that pursuant to the direction issued by the Banking Ombudsman, they have published a public notice in the newspaper, admitting therein that the original documents mentioned in the said public notice have been lost and are not traceable.  A police report has also been lodged by the OP referring to the loss of the original title documents of the flat.  The aforesaid steps taken by the bank, in my opinion, do not compensate the complainants for the loss they have suffered on account of loss of the valuable title documents and their use.  No one would extend a loan against equitable mortgage of the property only by deposit of the copies of the title documents of the house and the lender would insist upon deposit of the original title documents in order to safeguard its own interest.  In fact, the complainants did apply for grant of loan from a number of institutions including Yes Bank, IDFC Bank.  Despite having been sanctioned, the loan could not be disbursed for want of deposit of original title documents.  The learned counsel for the OP states that realizing the difficulty being faced by the complainants, they have already extended commercial loan to them against this very property i.e. flat no. 218 in Block-D, Pocket-A of Shalimar Bagh, Delhi though had the documents of the flat not been lost by the OP, it would not have extended the aforesaid concession to the complainants.  However, it is not necessary that every time the complainant would approach only the OP namely Axis Bank Ltd. for advancement of a loan and in the event of the complainants approaching some other bank or financial institution, they are not likely to succeed in the absence of the original title documents of the house. 

5.      More importantly, it cannot be disputed that a property, if sold in the market, will not fetch its true price if the seller is not in a position to deliver the original title documents of the house to the purchaser.  No purchaser will give full value of the house to the seller unless he is able to receive all the original title documents of the immovable property subject matter of the transaction.  Therefore, it cannot be disputed that there will be erosion in the market value of the flat if it is sold in the market without original title documents, though no evidence has been led by the parties to prove what precisely is likely to be the loss if the said house/flat is sold in the open market without original title documents. 

6.      Considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, the OP, in my opinion, should pay a sum of Rs.10,00,000/- as all inclusive compensation to the complainant for loss caused to them by losing/misplacing the original title documents of flat no. 218 in Block-D, Pocket-A of Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.  The OP is directed to pay the aforesaid amount to the complainant within six weeks from today failing which it shall carry interest @ 9% per annum from the date of this order.  The complaint stands disposed of.