Haryana

Ambala

CC/14/2021

Kamlesh Devi - Complainant(s)

Versus

PNB - Opp.Party(s)

Harpreet Singh Baidwan

22 Jul 2022

ORDER

 BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, AMBALA.

                                                          Complaint case no.         :     14 of 2021

                                                          Date of Institution           :     06.01.2021

                                                          Date of decision    :     22.07.2022.

Kamlesh Devi w/o Sh. Balbir Singh, r/o Village Ojlan, Tehsil Ambala Cantt., District Ambala.

                                                                             ……. Complainant.

                                      Versus

Punjab National Bank, Durana, Tehsil Ambala Cantt, District Ambala, through its Branch Manager.

                                                                    ….…. Opposite Party.

Before:        Smt. Neena Sandhu, President.

                   Smt. Ruby Sharma, Member.

Shri Vinod Kumar Sharma, Member.

 

Present:       Shri Varun Kaushal, Advocate, counsel for the complainant.

Shri Bhanu Partap Singh, Advocate, counsel for the OP.

 

Order:        Smt. Neena Sandhu, President.

1.                Complainant has filed this complaint under Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) against the Opposite Party (hereinafter referred to as ‘OP’) praying for issuance of following directions to it:-

(i) To pay Rs.35,844/-, alongwith current and future interest, to the   complainant.

(ii) To pay Rs.1,00,000/- as compensation for the mental agony and physical harassment suffered by the complainant.

(iii) To pay Rs.50,000/- as litigation expenses.

OR

Grant any other relief which this Hon’ble Commission may deem fit.                             

2.              Brief facts of this case are that the complainant is a housewife and did small jobs as field labourer on daily wages within the village. She opened a bank account (1050001703059568) in Punjab National Bank, Durana Branch, on 25.11.2014 to take the advantage of various state and center government schemes for poor, as she belongs to B.P.L family. Incidentally one Kamlesh w/o Balbir Singh R/O Village Malwa, P.O Barola and District Ambala has also opened her bank account (105000173059540) in the same branch of Punjab National Bank, Durana on 25.11.2014. After some days of opening of bank account, the bank issued the passbook without pasting any photo to the complainant (Kamlesh Devi) and also issued the passbook to Kamlesh of village Malwa on 19.12.2014. However, the official of Punjab National Bank, Durana Branch carelessly issued the passbook of complainant (Kamlesh Devi) to Kamlesh of Malwa Village and the passbook of Kamlesh of Malwa village to the complainant (Kamlesh Devi). Complainant is an illiterate woman and believed that the bank official had issued her right passbook and account number  and she had given the account number for B.P.L benefits to various government authorities and started depositing the money in her account(105000173059540) wrongly issued by bank. Complainant (Kamlesh Devi) also deposited the sum of Rs.30,000/- by cash in her account on 21.12.2019 and kept the receipt with her carefully. In the month of November 2020, complainant visited the O.P bank to withdraw her money for repair of her house but she was highly surprised and stunned, when the bank employee told her that she has only Rs.44/- in her account. On inquiry, it was found that the money was withdrawn by Kamlesh of Malwa Village and thereafter she very cleverly got issued a new passbook without cancelling the previous one. When the complainant met the said Kamlesh in her Village Malwa with Panchayat then she admitted the fact that she had withdrawn the amount from the account of the complainant and returned the original passbook of complainant but refused to return the amount. Because all it happened due to the carelessness/fault of the OP, therefore, complainant requested it many times to return her money but OP failed to do so.  By not refunding the said amount, the OP has committed deficiency in service. Hence, the present complaint.
3.           Upon notice, OP appeared and filed written version and raised preliminary objections with regard to maintainability, locus standi, estoppal, not come with clean hands and concealed the true and material facts etc. On merits, it is stated that as a matter of fact the complainant herself is the wrong doer, who herself has deposited amount in wrong account number. There is no error or mistake on the part of the OP. The OP neither deposited any payment in wrong account number nor had given payment to wrong person. It is pertinent to mention here that the complainant has compromised the matter with the aforesaid Kamlesh of Village Malwa and has already received her payment back from her. Rest of the averments of the complainant were denied by the answering OP and prayed for dismissal of the present complaint with special costs.
4.           Learned counsel for the complainant tendered affidavit of complainant as Annexure CA alongwith documents as Annexure C-1 to C-3 and closed the evidence on behalf of the complainant. On the other hand, learned counsel for the OP tendered affidavit of Shri Puran Chand Ranga, Manager of OP Bank-Punjab National Bank, Durana as Annexure OP-1/A alongwith documents Annexure OP-1 to OP-4 and closed the evidence on behalf of OP.
5.           We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and carefully gone through the case file.
6.           The learned counsel for the complainant has submitted that it was only account of the reason that the OP wrongly issued passbook of the complainant to some other person of same name i.e. Kamlesh of village Malwa on 19.12.2014 and handed over the passbook of Kamlesh of village Malwa to the complainant, as a result whereof complainant being illiterate and under bonafide belief kept on depositing her amount in the account of Kamlesh of village Malwa. On knowing it, complainant requested the said Kamlesh to return her amount but she refused to return the same. Complainant requested the OP to refund her amount, but of no avail. 
7.           On the contrary, the learned counsel for the OP has submitted that it was complainant who herself, wrongly deposited the amount in the account of above said Kamlesh of village Malwa, yet, thereafter, she amicably settled the matter and got refund of her amount from her (Kamlesh of village Malwa) vide settlement agreement dated 22.01.2021, Annexure OP-1. 
8.           It is pertinent to mention here that the complainant has not been able to prove by placing on record any iota of evidence that any wrong passbook pertaining to account number of another person i.e. Kamlesh of village Malwa was handed over to her by the OP. From the settlement agreement dated 22.01.2021, Annexure OP-1, it is evident that complainant had received her amount back from Kamlesh of village Malwa. It is not out of place to mention here that the said settlement deed was entered during pendency of this complaint but complainant did not disclose this fact to this Commission. Furthermore, in this settlement deed, it has nowhere been mentioned that it was on account of wrong passbook issued by the OP, complainant deposited the aforesaid amount  in the account of Kamlesh of village Malwa. Be that as it may, we are of the considered view that since the complainant has not disputed the said settlement deed, wherefrom it is evident that she has already settled the matter, in respect of the amount in dispute, as such, we are of the opinion that this complaint needs to be dismissed. Resultantly, this complaint stands dismissed with no order as to costs. Certified copy of this order be supplied to the parties concerned, forthwith, free of cost as permissible under Rules. File be indexed and consigned to the Record Room.

Announced on: 22.07.2022.

 

 

          (Vinod Kumar Sharma)  (Ruby Sharma)               (Neena Sandhu)

              Member                         Member                       President