This is a complaint U/s 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 with the prayer for order directing the O.P. to release the fixed deposit maturity value amounting to Rs.1,18,900/- plus interest up to date, to pay compensation of Rs.50,000/- for mental pain & agony and to pay litigation cost of  Rs.10,000/-.

The case of the complainant in short is that the complainant deposited Rs.1,00,000/- for two years in fixed deposit term in his account No.3193574109, which was matured on 31.07.2014 at Rs.1,18,900/-. A criminal case was started against the petitioner on 30.05.2013 U/s 420 IPC on a complaint lodged by Pratul Laha, a resident of Balurghat, Dakshin Dinajpur. After investigation the police submitted charge sheet against the petitioner and the trial is pending at Islampur Court.

Petitioner further stated that a consumer dispute case CC-31/2014 was also lodged by said Pratul Laha against Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited and the petitioner and also against Central Bank of India, Islampur Branch. The said case was decided by this Forum on 23.02.2016 and Pratul Laha get entire compensation from the insurance company. Thereafter present petitioner went to the O.P. to get maturity value of his said fixed deposit account and he was refused by the O.P./ Bank as the fixed deposit amount was freeze by order of Ld. Court . The complainant faced hardship and for getting maturity amount, he sent legal notice on 09.03.2016 asking to release the maturity amount within 15 days. O.P. did not comply in spite of receiving the Advocate’s letter on 11.03.2016. So he filed this case before this Forum with the above mentioned prayer.

O.P./ Bank appeared and contested this case by filing written version stating inter alia that the petition is not maintainable, based on false and fabricated ground with no cause of action made for illegal benefit. O.P. stated petitioner suppressed material fact that, the criminal case against the petitioner is sub-judice. That the petitioner against whom FIR was lodged by Pratul Laha on 30.05.2013 and a specific police case being Islampur PS Case No.552/2013 U/s 420 IPC was initiated and thereafter a consumer complainant on 31/2014 was also filed by said Pratul Laha impleading the present petitioner as O.P.

In reality petitioner opened joint FD A/c being No.3186794113 of Rs.1,60,806/- in the name of Kanu Ranjan Roy & Potul Laha at Central Bank of India, Islampur Branch and from that A/c he withdrew Rs.1,00,000/- and thereafter made a fixed deposit of Rs.1,00,000/- in his own name only. During investigation of the police case the said fixed deposit was seized by Police Authority and O.P./ Bank was instructed by the Police Authority in writing to block the said fixed deposit account of the petitioner. There is no further instruction regarding the releasing of the fixed deposit account. In such situation the O.P./ Bank is unable release the said fixed deposit account after maturity date. There is no other deficiency in service and petitioner is not entitled to get any relief of compensation, litigation cost, etc. O.P. therefore, prays for dismissal of this case.

To establish the case, the complainant has relied upon Xerox copies of fixed deposit, the copy of judgment of CC-31/2014 and Advocate’s letter dated 09.03.2016.

O.P./ Bank files documents like the certified copy of charge-sheet, in GR-1809/2013 in connection with Islampur Case No.552/2013 dated 30.05.2013 U/s 420/34 IPC, seizure list, dated 30.05.2013 of Islampur PS case mentioning seizure of A/c No. 3186794113 transaction in the name of petitioner and one Mr. Patul Laha for the period 27.06.2012 to 11.06.2013. O.P. also filed copy of Advocate’s letter of the O.P./ Bank dated 16.04.2016 and letter of Islampur PS to the O.P./ Bank dated 11.06.2013 praying for block the above mentioned A/c of petitioner Kanu Ranjan Roy in FD of the O.P./ Bank.

Petitioner all along took steps during the hearing of this case, but he did not adduce any evidence as P.W. He only files documents in support of his case.

O.P. contested this case by filing written version and also adduced evidence by producing one Sachin Kumar Upadhyay as Branch Manager of O.P./ Bank, who filed examination-in-chief on affidavit and deposed as O.P.W. No.1. He was thoroughly cross examined by the petitioner. O.P. also files documents as stated above.

DECISIONS WITH REASONS

Giving due consideration to the contents of the complaint petition, documentary evidence on record, hearing, argument advanced by the lawyers of both sides, the Ld. Forum has come to the findings as follows: -

It is admitted fact that a complaint was lodged by one Pratul Laha on 30.05.2013 and charge sheet was submitted against the petitioner U/s 420 IPC in Islampur PS Case No.552/2013 being registered as GR Case No.1809/2013 before Ld. ACJM, Islampur Court. The Criminal Case is still pending. From the charge sheet, it is clear that the present petitioner Kanu Ranjan Roy jointly with one Patul Laha deposited Rs.1,60,806/- for the period 27.06.2012 to 11.06.2013. Thereafter on 31.07.2012 he withdrew Rs.1,00,000/- from that account and deposited the same in his single name Kanu Ranjan Roy for the period 31.07.2012 to 31.07.2014 being A/c No.3193574109. The subject matter of this complaint case is that O.P. is not releasing the said A/c being No.3193574109 matured on 31.07.2014. Petitioner prays for direction before this Forum asking O.P. to release the said fixed deposit of Rs.1,00,000/-, which became matured to Rs.1,18,900/- on 31.07.2014.

From the certified copy of the judgment in CC-31/2014 it appears that the petitioner as O.P. No.4 contested the case and after taking evidence from both sides and on the basis of documents filed by the parties this Forum detected that petitioner, Kanu Ranjan Roy with one fake person namely Patul Laha opened a joint account, where Patul Laha was a fake person shown as nominee of insured, deceased Basanti Singh. Actual nominee was Pratul Laha, a resident of Teor, Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur who filed the complaint CC-31/2014 before this Forum detecting the fraud and also made the complaint/ FIR before Islampur PS. Basanti Singh died on 11.06.2012 and as nominee Pratul Laha claimed the insurance amount. But when he came to know that the petitioner Kanu Ranjan opened a joint bank account of FD No. 3186794113 with a fake name Patul Laha after realization of the insurance amount showing Patul Laha as nominee of deceased Basanti Singh, from Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company. The insurance company was held negligent by willfully and deliberately settling the claim amount in favour of one Patul Laha without verifying the identity of Patul Laha and with the active participation of Kanu Ranjan Roy. Kanu Ranjan Roy was a witness to the said insurance policy and acted as an agent. This Forum in the Final Order/ Judgment being satisfied with his identity by sufficient oral and documentary evidence1 directed the insurance company to pay the death claim amount covered in that policy of Basanti Singh to the actual nominee Pratul Laha.

During argument Ld. Lawyer for the O.P. submitted that following the order in CC-31/2014 insurance company obeyed the order of this Forum in Execution Application being No.EA-05/2016 before this Forum and made payment accordingly to Pratul Laha. Therefore, his argument is that, Kanu Ranjan Roy will be allowed to withdraw the matured FD A/c No.3193574109, which is in his single name.

After going through the documents submitted by the parties to this complaint petition and from the evidence of O.P.W.-1, Branch Manager of O.P./ bank that presently they made correspondence with the IO of the criminal case pending against Kanu Ranjan Roy regarding the development and whether the Bank can release the amount in favour of Kanu Ranjan Roy. The letter dated 18.02.2016 goes to show the same and the Bank is still awaiting any answer in affirmative from the investigation officer of the criminal case. In such circumstances, when the petitioner also is not able to file any clearance certificate from the IO or from the Ld. Court at Islampur and in the background of seizure of fixed deposit certificates of Kanu Ranjan Roy, the bank stopped making payment to the petitioner even after maturity period pending decision of the criminal case against the petitioner.

In the light of the above discussions this Forum holds that the fixed deposit certificate being No.3193574109, dated 31.07.2012 of Rs.1,00,000/- in the name petitioner is corresponding to the fixed deposit A/c No. 3186794113, dated 27.06.2012 amounting to Rs.1,60,806/- in the joint name of petitioner, Kanu Ranjan Roy with a fake person namely Patul Laha. Police seized the same on 30.05.2013 in connection with the criminal case against petitioner U/s 420 IPC. The allegation of the O.P./ Bank is that the petitioner withdrew Rs.1,00,000/- from the joint A/c and invested the same in his single name in A/c No.3193574109 on 31.07.2012. Therefore, the O.P./ bank is not releasing this fixed deposit amount to the petitioner as there is a strong prima-facie case against the petitioner and his son and charge sheet was submitted accordingly in GR-1809/2013 U/s 420/34 IPC. On perusal of the copy of the charge sheet, seizure list and the documents filed by the parties, it appears to this Forum that the O.P./ Bank find it prudent not to release the FD A/c of the petitioner pending the decision of the criminal case and specifically without any order of the Ld. Court at Islampur. To avoid further complicacy this Forum is not inclined to pass any order in the form of direction to the O.P./ Bank to release the said amount in favour of petitioner Kanu Ranjan Roy. Therefore we do not find any deficiency in service on the part of the O.P./ Bank. Petitioner is not entitled to get any relief from this Forum in this regard.

In the light of our above discussions we can safely conclude that the complainant has not been able to prove his case and is not entitled to get relief as prayed for.

Fees paid is correct.

Hence, it is

ORDERED,

That the consumer complaint being No. CC-30/2016 be and the same is dismissed on contest.

Let copies of this order be supplied to the parties free of cost.