Orissa

Cuttak

CC/293/2023

Sibendu Sekhar Mishra - Complainant(s)

Versus

M/s. Bajaj Finserve Corporate Office - Opp.Party(s)

A.Pattnaik & Associates

22 Jul 2024

ORDER

IN THE COURT OF THE DIST. CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION,CUTTACK.

C.C.No.293/2023

Sibendu Sekhar Mishra,

S/o: Late Harihara Mishra,

At: Professor Pada,P.S:Mangalabag,

                   Town/Dist:Cuttack(Odisha)                                         ...Complainant

 

          Vrs.

 

1.        M/s. Bajaj Finserve Corporate Office,

Off Pune-Ahemednagar Road,Viman Nagar,

                     Pune-411014

Represented through its Managing Director.

 

2.       M/s. Bajaj Finance Ltd.,

N.H-5,Naya Chowk,

                 Madhupatna,Cuttack-10,

Represented through its Branch Head.

 

3.       M/s. Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. Vaishnavi Summit,

Ground Floor,7^th Main, 80 Feet Road,

                  3^rd Block,Koramangala Industrial Layout,

                   Bangalore-560034,Karnataka,

Represented through its Managing Director.

 

4.       CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd.,),

Plot No.N-6/243,Jayadev Vihar,Near Biju Pattnaik College,

                  Bhubaneswar-750105(Odisha),

Represented through its Branch Head.                                .….Opp. Parties.

 

Present:         Sri Debasish Nayak,President.

                      Sri Sibananda Mohanty,Member.

 

Date of filing:    28.08.2023

Date of Order:  22.07.2024

 

For the complainant:            Mr. A.Pattnaik,Adv. & Associates.

For the O.Ps no.1& 2:            Mr. R.C.Panigrahy,Adv. & Associates.

For the O.Ps No.3 & 4:                     None. 

 

Sri Debasish Nayak,President

Case of the complainant as made out from the complaint petition bereft unnecessary details in short is that the complainant had received a call from his financier about his pre-approval of personal loan to the tune of Rs.3,64,000/- on 23.4.2018.  On the next day he received an OTP for disbursement of his loan to his Axis Bank account.  After getting the OTP he had received a call requiring to share that OTP number which he had received and immediately after complying the same he found that a sum of Rs.1,05,790/- was fraudulently used for purchase of certain articles through Flipkart.  Thereafter he received a message from his financier seeking repayment of Rs.1,05,790/- in six number of EMIs @ Rs.17,632/-.  Though the complainant had raised protest and had lodged his complaint to that effect vide SRN No.19247731 on 24.4.2018 but no action was initiated.  The complainant had also reported the matter to the Cyber Crime P.S vide his petition no.464 of 2018 and also a complaint was filed by him at Madhupatna P.S vide FIR No.99/2018.  The financier subsequently had collected an amount of Rs.17,632/- through ECS from the personal account of the complainant at Axis Bank.  Thus, the complainant has come up with his case before this Commission seeking a sum of Rs.56,38,383/- towards  complainant’s investment @ 70% -Rs.39,46,868/- & Rs.16,91,515/- demand of partner about loss in rent, Rs,50,000/- towards advance given by him to the land owner, Rs.7,50,000 towards rent for 25 months @ Rs.30,000/- P.M., Rs.15,00,000/- towards finalization and inspection of plant, Rs.85,000/- towards land development, Rs.15,60,000/- towards Shed with concrete base and floor, Rs,8,00,000/- towards advance for plant to M/s Jayems Manufacturing Company, Noida, Rs.1,00,000/- towards advance for purchase and installation of 100 kw transformer, Rs.85,953/- towards electrification with cost of electrical fittings,Rs.28,429/- towards water arrangement including pipe line and cleaning of bore well and motor, Rs.37,172/- towards deposit with CESU for Electrical deposit, Rs.14,98,966/- towards loss of investment of the complainant @ 30% and Rs.34,97,588/- towards demand of partner about loss in investment @ 70%, Rs.17,632/- towards loss on account of collection by Bajaj Finance and Rs.22,00,000/- towards loss of business, mental agony and torture and thus in total he has claimed a sum of Rs.1,78,49,123.00p. from the O.Ps.

          In order to prove his case, the complainant has filed some documents alongwith his complaint petition.

2.       Out of the four O.Ps as arrayed in this case, having not preferred to contest ,O.P no.4 has been set exparte vide order dated 17.10.2023 and O.P no.3 has been set exparte vide order dated 3.4.2024 but O.P no.3 has filed it’s written notes of submission.  However O.Ps no.1 & 2 who happen to be the financier of the complainant have contested this case and have filed their joint written version.

          According to the written version of O.Ps no.1 & 2, the case of the complainant is not maintainable which is liable to be rejected.  The complainant has not approached this Commission with clean hands and had rather suppressed the material facts.  The O.Ps had informed the complainant as regards to the EMI Card transaction for loan Account number  4C1ECF72655832 which was processed through OTP as sent on the registered mobile number of the complainant.  The complainant had shared the OTP with the caller.  Since because the complainant had availed the loan, he is liable to pay the EMIs.  The complainant was not to share the OTP with anyone but he had shared the OTP as per his sweet will.  In this context the O.Ps have relied upon a catena of decisions.

          That adjudication of complaint filed by the complainant is complex in nature, involves a detailed oral evidence/investigation which does not come under the purview of the Hon’ble Consumer Forums the proceeding before the Consumer Forums are summary in nature.  In this regard the O.P is relying on Judgement of National Commission in the matter of M/s. Citimake Builders Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Samata Sahakari Bank Ltd. dated 16 October,2012 relying on the judgment in Bhagwanji D. Patel(supra) passed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice R.C. Jain on 6.5.2011 wherein it is held that, “Consumer Forum should not indulge in handling complex matters involving submission of detailed oral and documentary evidence in a summary manner”.  Thus, according to the O.Ps, the petition as filed by the complainant is liable to be dismissed wit cost.

          O.Ps no.1 & 2 have also filed copies of several documents alongwith their written version in order to support their stand.

          O.P no.3 has filed evidence affidavit through one Ms. Sanchi Chhabra, Authorised signatory of O.P no.3 and when perused the evidence affidavit of said Sanchi Chabra it appears to be a reiteration of the averments as made in the written notes of submission and nothing else.

3.         Keeping in mind the averments as made in the complaint petition and the contents of the written version of the O.Ps no.1 & 2, this Commission thinks it proper to settle the following issues in order to arrive at a definite conclusion here in this case.

i.          Whether the case of the complainant is maintainable?

ii.         Whether there was any deficiency in service on the part of the O.Ps ?

iii.        Whether the complainant is entitled to the reliefs as claimed by him?

Issue no.II.

Out of the three issues, issue no. ii being the pertinent issue is taken up first for consideration here in this case.

After perusing the complaint petition, written version, written notes of submission as filed by both the contesting O.Ps, evidence affidavit filed by O.P no.3  as well as the copies of documents available in the case record, it is noticed that infact the complainant had applied for a personal loan from O.Ps no.1 & 2.   He had received a call on 23.4.2018 regarding pre-approval of his said loan to the tune of Rs.3,64,000/-.  On 24.4.2018 he had received an OTP.  Subsequently, he had received a phone call asking him to share the OTP in order to enable the loan to be credited to his account at the Axis Bank bearing Account number 091010100230070.  But after sharing the said OTP, the complainant could notice that a sum of Rs.1,05,790/- was spent towards purchase of certain articles from Flipkart and later he was asked by the O.Ps no.1 & 2 to repay the said loan in six number of instalments @ Rs.17,632/- per month.  The complainant had lodged complaint before the Madhupatna police station and Cyber P.S.  According to him, no result has yielded from those complaints.  He had also lodged complaint before the O.Ps no.1 & 2 but no fruitful result had yielded.  Having no other way out, the complainant has approached this Commission with his petition.

After going through the evidence as available in the case record and the copies of documents available here in this case, it is noticed that the complainant has not filed any scrap of document so as to apprise this Commission that infact the O.Ps no.1 & 2 had called him on 24.4.2018  through his registered mobile phone number asking him thereby to share the OTP.  When he had availed the loan which he was intimated and when after sharing the OTP a purchase was made by spending an amount of Rs.1,05,790/- from his account through Flipkart, subsequently the O.Ps asking for repayment of the said spent amount in six number of monthly instalments @ Rs.17,632/- cannot be said to be deficient in their service specifically when the complainant had shared his OTP without knowing who the caller was and who was asking him to share his OTP.  Thus, keeping in mind the callous and negligent conduct of the complainant and since when the O.Ps no.1 & 2 have acted as per law,  this Commission finds no deficiency in service on the part of O.Ps as alleged by the complainant.  This issue thus goes against the complainant.

Issues no.i & iii.

From the discussions as made above, the case of the complainant cannot be said to be maintainable and the complainant is also not entitled to any of the reliefs as claimed by him.  Hence it is so ordered;

                                              ORDER

The case is dismissed on contest against the O.Ps no.1 & 2 and exparte against O.Ps no.3 & 4 and as regards to the facts and circumstances of the case without any cost.

Order pronounced in the open court on the 22^nd day of July,2024 under the seal and signature of this Commission.         

 

                                                                               Sri Debasish Nayak

                                                                                       President

                     

 

                                                                          Sri Sibananda Mohanty

                                                                                             Member