We proceed, by highlighting the facts through which the complainant S.Nirmal Singh has sought the return/repayment of his Deposited/Invested Money in FDRs (fixed deposits) by the titled opposite parties with amounts aggregating to Rs.7,81,889/- along with the accrued interest @ 18 % PA besides an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- as compensation for illegal, unfair, negligent and deficient acts and Rs.25,000/- as cost of litigation, all in the interest of justice.

2.      The backdrop of the case in brief is that the complainant and his mother Smt.Karamjit Kaur (died on 3.6.2012) were approached by the opposite party finance company's office-bearers/representatives including the OP1 Chairman and the OP2 Branch Manager introducing their attractive Deposit Schemes and assuring very good returns and thus motivated/attracted and allured the complainants to deposit their savings/amounts to earn handsome interests etc. Like many others, the complainant also invested/deposited various amounts with the opposite parties in the 9 Nos. of different Fixed Deposit schemes as per the details furnished/provided in the complaint and the receipts duly produced during its proceedings. Upon maturity, the amount Rs.7,81,889/- of the deposits became due in the years 2005, 2006 and 2008, the complainant approached the opposite parties to receive back their principal amounts along with the accrued interest at the promised/documented rates but no amount was repaid all this time on one pretext or the other and finally just 7 days before filing of the present complaint the OP have flatly and finally refused the repayment of the maturity and/or principal amounts of the deposits affording the requisite cause of action to the complainant and giving prompt to the present complaint with the desired relief as prayed herein above.

3.       The requisite Notice/Summons were duly serviced upon the titled opposite parties no.1 & 2 that were duly returned un-served with the postal authorities remarks as: “REFUSED’ for both the OP1 and the OP2 thus the OP1 and the OP2 were ordered to be proceeded against ‘ex-parte’ vide orders dated 16.06.2015.

4.       Upon going through the pleadings as made out in the complaint and as per the apparent tenor of the related Deposit Receipts the nine nos. of Deposits were due for payment on i) 26.09.2005, ii) 26.09.2005, iii) 14.09.2005, iv) 05.01.2008, v) 26.09.2005,  vi) 06.06.2006, vii) 30.10.2005, viii) 04.07.2005 and ix) 30.11.2005 respectively thus the cause of action having arisen on these very dates and continued throughout with a fresh cause of action having erupted just 7 days before filing of the present complaint i.e., on 22.04.2015 when the OPs finally refused to repay back the maturity amounts of the above nine nos. of the FDRs.  

5.       The intentional non-appearance during the complaints’ proceedings by the opposite party no.1 & 2 by way of flat ‘refusal’ of even the acceptance of the Summons/Notice affords the legal presumption (by the time a well settled Law by virtue of a plethora of Superior Courts’ Judgments) that the respondents/opposite parties have no legal plea and/or other evidentiary material etc to prosecute their defence and in a way that amounts to an implicit admission of their guilt.

6.        In the light of the all above we hold the opposite parties No.1 & 2 guilty of having infringed the consumer rights of the complainant in the Consumer Complaints through adherence to unfair trade practices amounting to deficiency in service and thus while partly accepting the present complaint, we ORDER the titled opposite parties No.1 & 2 to pay jointly and severally the maturity value of all these FDRs amounting to Rs.7,81,889/- along with interest @ 9% PA from the respective date of maturity of each FDR till actually paid in full besides Rs.5,000/- as litigation costs within 30 days of the receipt of the copy of these orders otherwise the complainants shall be at liberty to file execution U/s 27 of the Act, for the requisite compliance.

7.         Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. After compliance, file be consigned to record.

                                                                                       (Naveen Puri)

                                                                                            President.                                                                                       

ANNOUNCED:                                                         (Jagdeep Kaur)

July 03, 2015                                                                        Member.

*MK*