The Complainant has filed this case alleging deficiency-in-service by the O.P i.e. Branch Manager, UCO Bank, Soro, Dist- Balasore.

                    1. Shorn of unnecessary details briefly stated the case of the Petitioner is that the Complainant is maintaining a Savings Bank A/c No.03710110092064 with the O.P-Bank since 03.10.2012, with a balance of Rs.10,532/- (Rupees Ten thousand five hundred thirty two) only as on 06.07.2013. The husband of the Complainant had deposited Rs.9,000/- on 05.08.2013 through Mr. Ankit and the Complainant withdrew Rs.9,000/- through ATM on the same day. Thereafter, the Complainant had not made any transactions in the said account. But on 02.09.2013, the Complainant on verification her account, found that there was a balance of Rs.1,513/- only. The Complainant approached the same with the O.P-Bank followed with a written application, but they did not respond to it. The Complainant lodged a F.I.R with Police Station, Soro also, for an enquiry into the matter. Moreover, the Complainant made a complaint to O.P-Bank circle Office, Bhubaneswar and G.M, Operation Department. The O.P-Bank circle Office, Bhubaneswar had given a mail to idm, Balasore to look into the matter and arrange for providing CCTV footage to the Customer to resolve the issue and submit the development. On updating the Passbook, the Complainant found that a sum of Rs.8,502/- (Rupees Eight thousand five hundred two) only was withdrawn from her Savings Bank account in different occasions within a period from 20.07.2013 to 30.08.2013, which caused mental agony and financial loss to the Complainant. Prayer for refund of withdrawal amount through ATM along with interest and compensation for mental agony and cost of litigation.

                    2. Written version filed by O.P-Bank through their Advocate, where they have denied about maintainability as well as its cause of action. But the crux of the written version filed by this O.P is that “possibly the ATM card which was issued to the Complainant, was misused by any of her relatives, beyond the knowledge of the Complainant. The withdrawal of amount on several occasion suggests that the ATM was used/ unused by any known person of the Complainant. Such allegation of the Complainant relates to a Cyber Crime and that requires through investigation technically and the Complainant is required to initiate the investigation through proper investigating agency”.   

                    3. On perusal of the documents filed by both the contesting Parties in this case, it is noticed that:-

(i) The Complainant has withdrawn Rs.9,000/- on 05.08.2013, as per complaint filed by the Complainant. As per complaint, the Complainant has also admitted that four nos. of withdrawal from 20.07.2013 to 29.07.2013 amounting to Rs.1,500/- is the alleged withdrawal, out of Rs.8,502/-, as filed by the Complainant. Hence, it is clear that the Complainant had used the ATM card for withdrawal of Rs.9,000/- on 05.08.2013, but it is not clear how alleged withdrawal for the period 20.07.2013 to 29.07.2013 was used by somebody else without the knowledge of the Complainant.

(ii) Documents filed by the Complainant through her Advocate as “F.I.R Copy” reveals that the same is undated and not recorded/ reflected either as Station diary or as F.I.R copy.

(iii) Letter dt.03.10.2013 issued by the O.P-Bank to the Complainant reveals that the O.P-Bank has intimated the details of withdrawal, withdrawn through ATM, as per the statement of account supplied by the O.P-Bank to the Complainant in the instant case.

(iv) One Mr. Abhinav Gupta on behalf of the Complainant has lodged a complaint on 13.01.2014 addressed to O.P-Bank Zonal Office, Cuttack regarding the matter, where he has admitted that ATM withdrawal dt.03.09.2013 for Rs.1,400/- is a valid transaction. Hence, it is ascertained that the Complainant had used her own ATM card on 03.09.2013 also. Then, how the ATM withdrawals for Rs.7,002/- for the period 05.08.2013 to 30.08.2013 has occurred without the knowledge of the Complainant. 

(v) In view of the elaborate procedure evolved by the  Bank to ensure that without the ATM card and knowledge of the PIN Number, the money cannot be withdrawn by an unauthorized person from an A.T.M. No doubt, there may be cases of fraudulent withdrawals, but in this case and in all probability, these fraudulent withdrawals occurred because the ATM card and the PIN Number fell in wrong hands. However, being the debit card holder, the Complainant is the sole custodian of her own ATM card and she has to maintain the secrecy of her PIN Number also with respect to her ATM card. No valid transaction can be made at any point of time in the absence of ATM card and its PIN Number.

(vi) In view of the above observations and for want of specific material evidences, it can’t be held that the O.P-Bank has any deficiency-in-service to the Complainant. Hence, the Complainant is not entitled for any relief as claimed for. In the result, the Consumer case is liable to be dismissed; hence ordered:-         

                                                     O R D E R

                         The Consumer case is dismissed on contest against the O.P, but in the peculiar circumstances without any cost.

                         Pronounced in the open Forum on this day i.e. the 22nd day of February, 2017 given under my Signature & Seal of the Forum.