West Bengal

Bankura

CC/63/2017

Sri Kalipada Garai - Complainant(s)

Versus

Bangiya Gramin Bikash Bank - Opp.Party(s)

Britain Mitra

03 Aug 2023

ORDER

IN    THE   DISTRICT   CONSUMER   DISPUTES   REDRESSAL COMMISSION, BANKURA

  Consumer Complaint No. 63/2017

                      Date of Filing: 06.09.2017       

Before:                                        

1. Samiran Dutta                              Ld. President.      

2. Rina Mukherjee                          Ld. Member. 

3. Siddhartha Sankar Bhui            Ld. Member.

For the Complainant:  Mahiuddin Ahmed

For the O.P.: None

Complainant  

1.Sri Kalipada Garai, S/o Late Haripada Garai       2. Sri Gopal Garai, S/o Kalapada Garai 

3.Sri Ganesh Garai, S/o Kalipada Garai                   4.Sri Shyamal Garai, S/o Kalipada Garai

5.Sri Taraknath Garai, S/o Kalipad Garai                 6. Sri Krishnadas Garai, S/o Kalipada Garai

All are Resident of Village- Onda, District-Bankur

Opposite Party  

Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank, Bishnupur Branch Addres- Village: Onda, District-Bankura                                                                                                                                                

 FINAL ORDER / JUDGEMENT  

Order No.38

Dated:03-08-2023

The Complainants file hazira through Advocate praying for adjournment on the ground stated therein.

O.P. files hazira through Advocate.

Prayer for adjournment is considered but rejected.

It is a long pending case and so the Commission decides to dispose of the case after hearing argument from the O.P.

The Complainants’ case is that they jointly took an agricultural loan bearing Loan A/c No.5106300300421 as small and marginal farmer for agricultural purpose from O.P. Bank. Though the loan amount has been paid and adjusted with Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 but the O.P. sent a Demand Notice bearing No.BJVB/BANK/225/16-17, dt.14/07/2016 upon the Complainants for a sum of Rs.7,06,569/- and on 24/10/2016 the O.P. Bank again sent a Demand Notice bearing No.BGVB/BANK/338/16-17, dt.25/10/2016 claiming loan amount of Rs.5,83,635/-. At the time of taking loan for purchase of Tractor all the papers including Blue Book of the Tractor were deposited with the O.P. in their custody but even after payment of the entire loan amount as aforesaid the O.P. refused to part with all those papers and documents. The Complainants have therefore approached this Commission for appropriate relief with compensation for deficiency in service on the part of the O.P. Bank.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Contd…….p/2  

Page: 2

The O.P. Bank submitted a written version denying all the material allegations made in the complaint and contending inter alia that the instant case is hopelessly barred by limitation as the cause of action actually arose on and from 18/09/2006 when the loan was sanctioned in favour of the Complainants and that the Complainants are not entitled to get any benefit under the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 as they have no such documents at their disposal and even the Complainants could not produce any such documents in support of their claim. Accordingly the O.P. has prayed for dismissal of the case in limine.

-: Decision with reasons: -

At the time of hearing Ld. Advocate for the O.P. has submitted a statement of account with regard to the aforesaid loan account of the Complainant wherefrom it can be ascertained that a total sum of Rs.6,86,629/- is still outstanding dues of the Complainants and as such the question of handing over of the Hypothecated documents to the Complainants does not arise till the liquidation of the entire outstanding dues.

The Commission finds from the guideline of Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 issued by the Reserve Bank of India, dt.23/05/2008 as produced by the Complainants along with the petition of complaint  that the Govt. of India has issued certain modalities with regard to the implementation of the Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme to cover direct agricultural loans extended to marginal and small farmers and also other farmers by the scheduled Banks. The Complainants have relied on this Scheme for waiver of their Agricultural loan and it is their specific case that the O.P. Bank has to carry out the Scheme to give relief to the Agricultural farmers according to the said Scheme. The Commission has minutely and carefully gone through the said Scheme wherefrom it is clearly seen that the intending farmers must be enlisted by the concerned Bank so as to give effect to the Scheme (vide Clause-7 of the Scheme) and thereafter Certificate of Debt Waiver or Debt Relief is to be issued by the concerned Bank in favour of the benenficiary farmers (Clause-9 of the scheme). It is also provided in the said Scheme that the Lending Institution / Bank shall appoint Grievance Redressal Officer in each State who shall have the authority to receive representation from aggrieved farmers and pass proper orders thereon and the order of the Grievance Redressal Officer  shall be final (vide Clause-10 of the said Scheme).

It is not clear from the case of either party whether the above mentioned Scheme-2008 is applicable to the present case or not. It is the duty of the Complainants to establish the application of the said Scheme in order to get benefit of their loan waiver but they have utterly failed to do so in this regard.

                                                                                                                                                                                         Contd…..p/3

                                                                                                         Page: 3

The O.P. Bank has pleaded ignorance about the application of the said Scheme to the present scheme. In such circumstances in absence of any material on record as to the applicability of the said Scheme the Commission cannot on its own import the same in order to give relief to the Complainants. Mere production of a guideline of the aforesaid Scheme by the Complainants without showing its applicability at the time of hearing will not improve the Complainants’ case. The Complainants have therefore failed to establish their case by reliable evidence.

Hence it is ordered……..

That the case be and the same is dismissed on contest.

The O.P. is at liberty to recover the outstanding dues from the Complainants in accordance with law and on payment of the entire outstanding dues. The O.P. Bank will be bound to hand over the relevant papers and documents of the Tractor of the Complainants on proper receipt and identification.

Both parties be supplied copy of this order free of cost.

 

____________________                _________________          _________________

HON’BLE   PRESIDENT          HON’BLE MEMBER       HON’BLE MEMBER