Haryana

Ambala

CC/33/2018

M/s Bagga Agenies - Complainant(s)

Versus

The Assistant General Manager - Opp.Party(s)

01 Apr 2019

ORDER

BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM AMBALA

                                                          Complaint case no.        :  33 of 2018

                                                          Date of Institution         :  23.01.2018

                                                          Date of decision   :  01.04.2019

M/s Bagga Agencies, New Cloth Market, near Railway Station,  Ambala City through its proprietor Smt. Poonam Bagga.

……. Complainant.

  Vs.

1.       The Assistant General Manager, Regional Office, Canara Bank, Sector-16, Namste Chowk, near Hotel Deventure, Karnal-132001.

2.       The Manager, Canara Bank, Branch, LIC Building near Head Office, Ambala City.

….…. Opposite Parties 

 

Complaint Under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act

Coram:       Ms. Neena Sandhu, President.

Ms. Ruby Sharma, Member.

Sh. Vinod Kumar Sharma, Member.

                            

Present:       Sh. Rajesh Sharma, Advocate, counsel for complainant.

Ms. Upma Bhalla, Advocate, counsel for the OPs.

 

Order:         Smt. Neena Sandhu, President.

Complainant has filed this complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) against the Opposite Parties(hereinafter referred to as ‘Ops’) praying for issuance of  following directions to them:-

1. To pay the cheque amount of Rs.20,998/- alongwith interest @ 18% p.a. from 22.05.2017 till its realization. 
2. To pay of Rs.50,000/- as compensation for mental agony and physical harassment suffered by him. 
3. To pay Rs. 50,000/- on account of the deficiency in services on the part of the OPs.
4. To pay Rs.35,000/- as litigation expenses.

Or

any other relief whichthis Hon’ble Forum may deemfit.

 

 

The brief facts of the complaint are that Smt. Poonam Bagga  is a proprietor of M/S Bagga Agencies which dealing in sale of  sarees, dress material, Raymond brand of clothes. It is having a current/OD account no.2030261000034 with the OP No.2, Canara Bank. The complainant  received a cheque no.416874 dated 22.05.2017 of Rs. 20,998/- issued by M/S Bharat Saree Center, Pehowa. The said cheque was  drawn on Canara Bank Branch Pehowa. The proprietor of the complainant deposited the said cheque for encashment with the OP No.2. A counter-foil of the pay-in-slip was issued to the complainant as per rules the cheque should have been encashed on the same day. The complainant wrote a letter regarding non-encashment of cheque in its account but the OP did not pay to any heed to it. The complainant after many visits to the bank came to know that OP No.2 had misplaced the cheque and cheque amount was transferred to some unknown  person  in his account through NEFT on 23.05.2017 from the Mahesh Nagar, Branch of Canara Bank. The complainant again wrote a letter on 05.06.2017 to the OP No.2 and requested the OP No.2 to pay the cheque amount alongwith interest. But instead of paying  the cheque  amount to the complainant, the OP No.2 raised a question vide its letter dated 06.06.2017 with remarks “How  you submitted the cheque at branch whether  dropped in Drop Box or handed over personally to any of the staff member and if so, then supply the copy of signed acknowledgment slip”. The complainant sent E-mails on 28.07.2017 to the OPs but they did not pay any attention. On 08.08.2017, complainant lodged a complaint against the OPs through E-mails to Banking Ombudsman and received e-mail dated 10.08.2017 from Ombudsman that “your complaint is forwarded to Nodal officer”. After waiting sufficiently, E-mails  dated 30.08.2017, 13.09.2017 and 15.09.2017 were sent to Ravi Kant Assistant General Manager, Chandigarh.  Complainant received a letter dated 21.9.2017 vide which OPs asked the complainant “To give an undertaking that in case, at a later stage, the bank or any of its officials is not found to be negligent in the alleged wrong payment then you will reimburse the above amount immediately on demand, without disputing bank’s request at that time”. But complainant refused to give any such undertaking. The complainant also served a registered AD legal notice dated 26.10.2017 upon the OPs, requesting them to pay cheque amount of Rs. 20,998/- but the OPs instead the paying the cheque amount had given a false and vague reply to the said notice. By not paying the cheque amount of Rs.20,998/-, the OPs have committed deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. Hence, the present complaint.

2.               Upon notice, OPs appeared through counsel and filed written version raising preliminary objections qua complaint is not maintainable; no locus standi; no cause of action; not come with clean hands; no jurisdiction; bad for non-joinder and mis-joinder and being false & frivolous. On merits it is stated that the cheque no.416874 dated 23.05.2017 was presented  at Canara Bank, Mahesh Nagar, Branch Ambala Cantt and the amount has been transferred through NEFT to some Sh. Sunil Chouhan. It is also specifically denied that any counterfoil was ever issued by OPs. It is further submitted that the counterfoil as annexed by the complainant does not bear any signature which clearly proves that the said cheque was not received by any official of the Bank. The complainant alleged that he dropped the cheque in the drop box whereas in the complaint he is alleging that the chque was received by the official. It is also stated that when the complainant sent a letter dated 24.05.2017, the OPs immediately inquired the matter and found that the cheque no.416874 dated 23.05.2017 was presented at Canara Bank, Mahesh Nagar Branch, Ambala Cantt and the amount has been transferred through NEFT to Sh. Sunil Chouhan. Ops had replied to the legal notice sent by the complainant vide its reply dated 16.11.2017. Thus, there is no deficiency in service on the part of the Ops and prayed for dismissal of the complaint.

3.                To prove his version complainant tendered his affidavit Annexure C/A namely Ms. Poonam Bagga alongwith documents as Annexure C-1 to C-16 and closed the evidence. On the other hand, Counsel for the OPs, tendered affidavit, Annexure R-A namely  Sh. Anil Sehgal, Sr. Branch Manager, Canara Bank, Ambala City, alongwith documents, Annexure R-1 & R-2 and closed the evidence.

4.                We have heard the learned counsel of the parties and carefully gone through the case file.

5.                The learned counsel for the complainant has argued that M/s Bharat Saree Centre Pehowa had issued a cheque no.416874 for Rs. 20,998/-on 22.05.2017 in favour of the complainant. Its proprietor presented the said cheque with the OP No.2 at Ambala for encashment but it did not encash the same. On the other hand the learned counsel for the Ops has argued that on receipt of the complaint from the complainant and enquiry got conducted by the OPs. On enquiry it was found that the cheque no.416874 dated 23.05.2017 was presented at some other branch of Canara Bank, at Ambala which  was not in favour of complainant and the amount had already been transferred through NEFT to Sh. Sunil Chauhan. The counter foil, so annexed by the complainant alongwith the complaint was not issued by the OP No.2. No doubt the complainant has placed on record the copy of the counter-foil of the deposit slip but has not produced the photocopy of the cheque, if any, or any documents to prove that the cheque was issued in the name of the complainant. From the perusal of the copy of the cheque no.416874, Annexure R-1. It is revealed that the said cheque was not issued in favour of the complainant but same was issued in favour of bank( yourself  for NEFT) and is of dated 23.05.2017. Taking all these facts and circumstances into consideration, we are of the view that the complainant has failed to prove its case. The complaint filed by the complainant is devoid of merits, consequently, we dismiss the same without any order as to costs. Certified copies 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 :01.04.2019

 

 

 

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

              Member                        Member             President