BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-I, U.T. CHANDIGARH

========

Complaint  Case  No : 659 of 2010

Date of Institution :  27.10.2010

Date of  Decision   :  10.05.2011

Inderjeet Sharma, C/o Sh. S.K. Bansal, Advocate, T-II/66, Sector 25, Panjab University Residential Complex, Chandigarh.

 ….…Complainant

V E R S U S

1]   Punjab National Bank, Bank Square, Sector 17, Chandigarh, through its Circle Manager.

2]   The Branch Manager, Punjab National Bank, Sector 16-D, Chandigarh.

.…..Opposite Parties

CORAM:   Sh.P.D. GOEL                    PRESIDENT

SH.RAJINDER SINGH GILL          MEMBER

            DR.(MRS).MADANJIT KAUR SAHOTA       MEMBER

Argued by: Sh. S.K. Bansal, Counsel for Complainant.

Sh. Ajay Kumar Sapehia, Counsel for OPs.

PER RAJINDER SINGH GILL, MEMBER

           Adumbrated in brief, the facts necessary for the disposal of the instant complaint are that after having been retired on 31.05.1981, as Peon, from the office of Director Industrial Training, Haryana, Chandigarh, the mother of the Complainant – Smt. Raj Kumari, was sanctioned pension @ `150/- p.m. initially, which was later on, increased, from time to time. She preferred to receive her pension from OP No.2 and had opened a Saving Bank Account No.9497 in the year 1981. In the year 1985, she shifted to U.S.A, but continued to draw her pension through OP No.2 in India. It was alleged that since February 2003, the pension was not credited in the aforesaid account of Complainant’s mother, despite her having regularly sending the required life certificate and last such certificate was sent by her on 23.11.2009, from U.S.A. The mother of the Complainant had breathed her last while in U.S.A. on 29.8.2010. Thereafter, the Complainant sent the death certificate of her mother to OP No.2, with a request to credit the complete pension arrears in her account from the date it was stopped, till her death i.e. 29.8.2010. Further, vide letter dated 20.10.2010, the Complainant had also submitted affidavits of his brother Sh. Baljeet Sharma and his sister Smt. Savita Sharma to the effect that they had voluntarily relinquished their share in the pension of the pensioner. It was also alleged that on reaching India, when the Complainant contacted OPs, he was informed that the name of his mother was inadvertently ignored, while computerizing the accounts of the customers in the year 2003, and the record pertaining to the relevant period was not traceable & as such, they were unable to give credit of the pension to the deceased. When all the frantic efforts made by the Complainant failed to elicit any fruitful results, the instant complaint, alleging that the aforesaid acts of the OPs amount to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice, has been filed.

2]         Notice of the complaint was sent to OPs seeking their version of the case.

3]         OPs in their joint reply, while admitting the factual matrix of the case, pleaded that the Pensioner herself was at fault and she had failed to furnish life certificate which was mandatory and Bank/ Pension Disbursing Agency (PDA) was, therefore, within their rights to stop the pension, if the life certificate was not submitted by the Pensioner. It was asserted that the OP was bound by the rules & regulations of the Pension matters and OP being PDA, had to recover the pension from the parent Department, from where pensioner was retired/getting the pension. All other material contentions of the complaint were controverted. Pleading that there was no deficiency in service on their part, a prayer has been made for dismissal of the complaint.

4]         Parties led evidence in support of their contentions.

5]         We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have also perused the record.

6]         It is not disputed that after retiring from the office of Director Industrial Training, Haryana, Chandigarh, on 31.5.1981, the mother of the Complainant Smt. Raj Kumari, was sanctioned pension @ `150/- per month, vide Pension Payment Order (Annexure C-1), which continued to be credited in her Saving Bank Account No. 9497, opened with the OP No.2. It is the case of the OPs that the Pensioner herself is at fault and she had failed to furnish life certificate, which is mandatory and the Bank/ Pension Disbursing Agency [PDA] is having right to stop the pension if life certificate is not submitted by the pensioner. The relevant rules/ guidelines framed by the competent authority is reproduced hereinbelow:-

“Annual Identification: For annual identification, you should appear before your PDA in the month of November every year. In case, you are unable to appear due to bodily illness or infirmity and desire the payment through a representative, produce a life certificate to your PDA. Otherwise, the pension may be stopped.”

It is further contended that if the pension is not drawn for more than a year, for any reason, it becomes time barred and the arrear claim is required to be submitted in the prescribed form, to PDA, with explanation for delay, non-reemployment and non-conviction certificate, for obtaining the sanction for payment of the arrears.  Furthermore, the retiree in this case Smt. Raj Kumari, had left India and was residing in U.S.A. since 1985. As per the Rules, framed for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Pensioners, they were required to submit the life certificate and the nationality certificate, as prescribed, to enable the credit of pension amount due to them, into their accounts. But, in the present case, the pensioner had failed to supply the life certificate, nationality certificate during her life time and no claim was raised by the pensioner since February 2002 to till her death with the PDA. 

7]         It is pertinent to mention here that the Complainant had filed the present complaint, without giving his residential address and he had given the address in the complaint as C/o Sh. S.K. Bansal, Advocate, who was defending his case. Furthermore, the Complainant is claiming the estate of the deceased, without even submitting any succession certificate, and neither he is pensioner nor he is nominee of the pensioner.

8]         A close scrutiny of the entire record would indicate that pension was not credited in the account of the pensioner as she had failed to submit the life certificate, which was to be submitted by the pensioner in Nov. 2001 and subsequently, pension was not credited for want of life certificate and pensioner never approached the PDA. Furthermore, neither the pensioner ever bothered to ask the Bank, as to why the pension is not being credited, nor any representative of the pensioner, ever approached PDA, since February 2002, till 29.8.2010. As per Rules, governing the payment of pension, if the pension is not drawn for more than a year, for any reason, it becomes time barred and would require the sanction of the competent authority. This being so, it can safely be concluded that all the required formalities, which were required to be done by the retiree, has not been done by her.

9]         In view of the above discussion, we are of the opinion that there is no merit in this complaint and the same is accordingly, dismissed, leaving the parties to bear their own costs.

10]        Certified copies of this order be sent to the parties free of charge.  The file be consigned.