Present (1) Nisha Nath Ojha,
District & Sessions Judge (Retd.) President
(2) Smt. Karishma Mandal,
Member
Date of Order : 31.03.2017
Nisha Nath Ojha
- In the instant case the Complainant has sought for following reliefs against the Opposite party:-
- To direct the opposite parties to rectify the wrong withdrawal of Rs. 38,000/- ( Rs. Thirty Eight Thousand only ) in the account of the complainant.
- To direct the opposite parties to pay Rs. 20,000/- ( Rs. Twenty Thousand only ) as compensation.
- To direct the opposite parties to pay Rs. 10,000/- ( Rs. Ten Thousand only ) as litigation costs.
- The facts of this case lies in a narrow compass which is as follows:-
The complainant has asserted that he is a account holder of State Bank of India, Chandwara Branch, Muzaffarpur, pakki Sarai Chowk being salary account no. 30429810267 and he is also holding ATM of that account. On 15.05.2009 he was at Hajipur for some personal work and he needed some money and as such he withdrew Rs. 2,000/- from ATM of State Bank of India. At that time he had balance to the tune of Rs. 39,104/- after withdrawal of Rs. 2,000/-.
It is further asserted by the complainant that again he required some money and when he withdrew the money from ATM then he found that there was wrong withdrawal of Rs. 38,000/- as will appear fom annexure – 1. Thereafter vide annexure – 2 he immediately informed opposite party no. 2 General Manager, State Bank of India but nothing happened. Thereafter the complainant again vide annexure – 3 filed an application to opposite party no. 1 Branch Manager but despite the fact the grievance of the complainant has not been redressed.
On behalf of the bank, written statement has been filed stating therein that after the complaint of the complainant regarding illegal withdrawal of his money through ATM the opposite party bank immediately took steps and inquired the matter properly and found that the complainant had himself withdrawn Rs. 2,000/- on 14.05.2009 at 11:48 PM from ATM at the railway station Hajipur and not on 15.05.2009 as stated by the complainant.
In Para – 5 of show cause/ written statement the following facts have been asserted, “ that the bank immediately took steps and inquired the matter properly with taking serious effort and found that the complainant itself withdrew Rs. 2,000/- on 14.05.2009 at 11:48 PM from ATM of the bank at railway station, Hajipur and not on 15.05.2009. The complainant again on the same day only after two minutes from the first withdrawal again withdrew Rs. 38,000/- from the same ATM, hence the allegation of the complainant regarding illegal withdrawal the amount from his account is incorrect, baseless and hence denied. It is important to state here that after proper verification the serious allegation as alleged by the complainant against the bank, the branch manager replied the same and denying the allegation made by the complainant through its letter no. Acct/10 dated 18.06.2009 along with the copy of the J.P. Roll to show that the successful withdrawal have been made hence the allegation of the complainant regarding illegal withdrawal the amount from his account and also responding the queries made by the complainant has no merit and the same is fit to be dismissed in limine with cost.”
in support of the aforesaid fact the bank has annexed the copy of J.P. log and the bank has also annexed annexure – A which is the letter of the branch manager addressed to the complainant stating that the aforesaid withdrawal was by him and as such the withdrawal was valid.
No rejoinder have been filed by the complainant of the aforementioned show cause/written statement of the opposite party bank.
We have mentioned the brief facts asserted by both the parties in foregoing paragraphs.
Heard the learned counsel for the parties.
The complainant has asserted illegal withdrawal of Rs. 38,000/-. The opposite party has denied the aforesaid allegation and stated that the withdrawal of the aforesaid money was valid.
It is needless to say that the ATM works on secrete PIN number which is always with the person who is holding the account. The withdrawer must have been using the secret PIN number which is supposed to be with the complainant. The bank has annexed J.P. Log as annexure – B.
Thus there is allegation and counter allegation and as such there is no any documents or material to prove that the fact asserted by bank is not believable. We have no any means to judge disputed facts unless there is cogent material which is lacking in this case.
For the reason stated above we find no deficiency on the part of opposite party bank and as such this complaint stands dismissed.
Member President
