DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, PATIALA.
Consumer Complaint No.241 of 03.07.2018
Decided on 06.02.2020
Poonam aged about 47 years w/o Davinder Kumar r/o # 234, Sukhdasspura Mohalla, Patiala.
.... Complainant.
Versus
1. Sahara Credit Co-operative Society Ltd., Regd Office Sahara India Bhawan, Kapurthala Complex, Aliganj, Lucknow- 226024 through its Managing Director/Chairman.
2. Sahara Credit Co-operative Society Ltd., Local Sector office 2nd Floor, Sethi Sales, Near Modi College, Lower Mall, Patiala, through its Sector Manager.
.... Opposite Parties.
Complaint under Section 11 to 14 of The Consumer Protection Act.
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Quorum :-
Smt.Inderjeet Kaur : Member.
Sh.B.S.Dhaliwal : Member.
Argued By :-
Sh.S.S.Anand, Adv. counsel for the complainant.
Sh.Dhiraj Puri Adv. Counsel for OPs.
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ORDER;
B.S.Dhaliwal, Member.
It is the case of the complainant that OPs are sister concerned companies and giving investment scheme offers to the customers since long. Sale representative of OPs No.2 allure the customers to invest in the company inciting offers of getting better rate of interest than other financial institute/banks. Allured by the offers, complainant started recurring scheme with the OP company having A/c No.25924800445 for a denomination of Rs.1,300/- on 8.5.2013 for a period of 60 months. She deposited the amount for 60 months regularly. It is alleged that after completion of 60 months, complainant approached OP No.2 on 8.5.2018 for withdrawal of Rs.78,000/- with interest, but to no effect. She is running from pillar to post for the withdrawal of her hard earned money. Complainant served a legal notice dated 17.5.2018 upon the OPs, but to no response. The act of OPs clearly amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. Complainant has suffered from mental pain and agony. She has prayed for direction to the OPs to pay Rs.8,000/- as compensation, Rs.5,000/- as costs of litigation, Rs.4,000/- on account of mental harassment, agony and tension, Rs.4,000/- on account of punitive damages. She has also prayed for refund of Rs.78,000/- (60x1300) with interest @ 12% per annum. Hence this complaint.
2. Upon notice, OPs appeared through counsel and contested the complaint by filing written reply and raised preliminary objections that complainant is not a consumer. That there is no relation of Contd........3
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consumer and service provider. OPs are society duly registered under “Multi State Co-operative Society Act, 2002” and the complainant is a member of the Society. Thus the relation between the complainant and the OPs is of Member and society. Therefore, any dispute between the Society and member, consumer complaint is not maintainable before this Forum. That if the complainant has any dispute with the society, she is bound to refer her dispute before Arbitrator as per Arbitration Agreement under clause:10 of the scheme Sahara M.Benefit, which is reproduced as under:-
“11. Arbitration:
In case of any dispute between Cooperative Society and Member account holder the same shall be decided by an arbitrator as per “Multi State Co –operative society Act, 2002”. Arbitration proceedings and proceedings arising out of the award shall be binding on both the parties.”
There exist a valid arbitration agreement between Society and complainant/member, therefore, present complaint is not maintainable and is liable to be dismissed with cost. In parawise reply, it is submitted that complainant was member of the society whose membership Number is 25921300348. She opted for Sahara M.Benefit Scheme to deposit Rs.1300/- p.m. for 60 months at Sector office- Patiala on 8.5.2013. Maturity had already been completed but, due to demand of excess interest made by the complainant, payment could not be made by OPs. As per the terms and conditions of the society, only maturity amount would be paid to the depositors. It is denied that complainant visited on 8.5.2018 at the office of the OPs for demand of payment. Clause-5 of the terms and conditions of the Scheme provides that the Contd........4
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member is bound to surrender the original passbook with demand application of maturity amount and after receiving the same Society shall pay the maturity amount within 30 to 35 days but the complainant has willfully not surrendered/submitted the same. As per the conditions, no additional interest is payable if the maturity is taken after scheduled period. Thus no additional interest is payable to the complainant after the date of maturity. There is no deficiency on the part of the OPs. As per rules, maturity amount would be given after completion of maturity period to the depositors. It is again submitted that complainant demanded enhanced rate of interest upon the deposit amount that‘s why payment could not be made till now. All the other averments of the complainant are denied. In the end, OPs prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
3. In order to prove the case, complainant tendered Ex.C-1 to Ex.C-4, alongwith affidavit Ex.CW1/A and closed evidence. On the other hand, OP tendered affidavit of Rameshwar Gupta, Manager, Ex.OPA and closed evidence.
4. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the file.
5. Learned counsel for the parties have reiterated their stand as taken in their respective pleadings and as detailed above.
6. It is a perception that an ordinary person is well aware that Public Sector Banks provides good rate of interest under Recurring Deposit Scheme and the Private Banks even more than that. The complainant opted a Society registered under Multi State Co-operative Contd........5
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Society Act, 2002' obviously for the reason to fetch more interest than that of the Bank provides. Complainant has claimed that she has been depositing Rs.1,300/- w.e.f. 8.5.2013 for a period of 60 months with the OPs. The maturity amount on 08/05/2018 was Rs.78,000/-. OPs have not denied these facts. The complainant has also claimed that OPs have failed to pay the amount. It is not the case of the OPs that amount has been paid.
7. The averment of OPs that the payment of maturity amount is subject to fulfillment of required conditions or completing the formalities of payment is without any foundation. Since OPs have not substantiated it by any document. There is no reason to disbelieve the contention of the complainant that she approached the Manager of OP No.2 for withdrawal on 8.5.2018 because of the fact that OPs failed to respond to the legal notice issued on 17.5.2018. Complainant got issued legal notice promptly and it itself establishes that OP No.2 refused to pay the amount as alleged by the complainant.
8. The OPs have mainly pleaded that there is Arbitration clause and the matter is to be referred to Arbitrator. In the case of M/s Emaar MGF Land Ltd. Vs. Aftab Singh in RP No.2629-2630 of 2018 in Civil Appeal No.23512-23513 of 2017 decided on 10.10.2018 by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, it was observed that:
“there is no bar to file the complaint in Consumer Forum inspite of arbitration clause in agreement between the parties. It is just like a banking system.”
9. Therefore, complaint cannot be dismissed on the ground Contd........6
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of Arbitration Clause. OPs have not produced any agreement. The other objection of the OPs is that complainant has not submitted the application for demand of maturity amount. There is also nothing on record that complainant was required to submit any particular application for release of the amount. Therefore, in these circumstances the only conclusion is that OPs have withheld the amount without any justification. Complainant was entitled to maturity amount on completion of 60 months. OPs have not released this amount, therefore, deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the OPs stands proved. The complainant has been deprived of her legitimate due amount by the OPs and compelled her to file the present complaint for the redressal of her genuine grievance.
10. For the reasons recorded above, complaint is partly accepted. OPs are directed to pay interest @ 9% on the analogy as adopted by Public Sector Bank (State Bank of India) in such cases and
work out the maturity amount. Further the OPs will pay the maturity amount alongwith interest @ 9% per annum from the date of maturity till realization with another sum of Rs.5,000/- as compensation, inclusive of costs for causing harassment, inconvenience and mental torture to the complainant, within a period of 45 days from the date of receipt of the copy of the order.
11. The complaint could not be decided within the statutory period due to heavy pendency of cases.
12. Copy of order be sent to the concerned parties free of cost Contd........7
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and file be consigned to the record.
PRONOUNCED:
6th Day of February, 2020
B.S.DHALIWAL INDERJEET KAUR
Member. Member.
