Complainant Surat Singh vide the present complaint filed U/S 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter for short The Act) for issuance of the necessary directions to the opposite parties to pay Rs.35,000/- alongwith interest allowed on the fixed deposit time to time to be calculated every year w.e.f. 15.3.2004 till the date of actual payment. Opposite parties be further directed to pay Rs.50,000/- as compensation for harassment, mental agony suffered by him alongwith Rs.10,000/- as litigation expenses, in the interest of justice.

2.          The case of the complainant in brief is that he got opened one year T.D. Account No.90516 on 15.3.2003 in the post office village Bhattian which was to be matured on 15.3.2004 and on its maturity Rs.35,000/- were to be paid or it was to be continued automatically year to  year.  Its copy had lost and after date of maturity, he went to the office of Post Master Bhattian to collect his amount but he was not paid his amount of Rs.35,000/- rather he was asked to file an application. He did the same. He received a letter no.Nil dated 25 November 2014 from the opposite party. After receipt of the above mentioned letter, he went to the office of Sr. Superintendent/ASPO/SDI (P) Division/Sub Division Gurdaspur who forced him to receive the amount of Rs.35,000/- only without further interest w.e.f. 15.3.2004 but he requested to make payment of Rs.35,000/- with interest for period w.e.f. 15.3.2004 and other opposite party no.2 told that sanction for that period is to be obtained from higher authorities. Hence it was presumed denial on the part of the opposite party, hence he got served a registered notice dated 17.1.2015 U/S 80 through his counsel. A false reply dated 9.4.2015 alongwith covering letter dated 9.4.2015 signed by Supdt. Of Post Offices has been received after expiry of period of notice and denied his claim. Hence this complaint.

3.         Upon notice, the opposite parties appeared through their counsel and filed their written version taking the preliminary objections that the complaint  is not maintainable  in the present form; the complainant has not come to the Court with clean hands and filed the present complaint by concealing the true facts and this Hon’ble Forum has got no jurisdiction to entertain, try and decide the present complaint. On merits, it was submitted that the said account was closed on 15.5.2004 as per record available at P.O.Bhattian. The said account no.60516 standing at Bhattian SO in the name of Surat Singh as closed on 15.5.2004 as per SB Ledger and specimen signatures on record. The Sub Divisional Inspector Gurdaspur during the course of cent percent verification of the SB/TD/RD has issued notices in shape of SB 46 vide his letter dated 25.11.2014 to all the depositors whose accounts standing at Bhattian SO. This notice had inadvertently been issued to the time depositor of the account No.90516 by the complainant.  Moreover, no intimation regarding deposit of RD amount No.90516 was given to the complainant by SPM Bhattian and Post master Gurdaspur where the account stands. Thus, there is no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. All other averments made in the complaint has been vehemently denied and lastly prayed that the complaint may be dismissed with costs.

4.           Complainant tendered into evidence his own affidavit Ex.C-I along with the other documents exhibited as Ex.C2 to Ex C4 and closed the evidence.

5.         On the other hand, Sh.Gaurav Kohli Postal Assistant of opposite party tendered into evidence his own affidavit Ex.OP1, alongwith the other documents Ex.OP2 to Ex.OP5 and closed the evidence.

6.        We have carefully examined the available evidence on the record file so as to interpret the meaning and purpose of each document determined against the backdrop of the respective arguments of the learned counsels of the litigants. We observe that the complained/reported dispute prompted from the impugned refusal to pay/non-payment of interest by the OP3 Post Office on the Term Deposit for the overdue-period for which the principal amount remained with them after maturity. The complainant has admittedly received back the maturity amount (as on 15.03.2004) of his T.D. (Term Deposit) of      Rs.35,000/- of 15.03.2003 upon approaching the OP3 Post Office with their T.D. Outstanding Amount intimation letter of 25.11.2014 but has to file the present complaint for claiming ‘interest’ for the overdue period from 15.03.2004 to the date of actual payment. Somehow, the OP2 & 3 Post Office authorities have complicated the matter by alleging in the written statement that the intimation letter of 25.11.2014 SB 46 notice by SDI (P) was wrongly issued as the said Term Deposit of 15.03.2003 stood closed on 15.05.2004 as per the records. However, in their reply of 30.09.2015 to the complainant’s application for production of documents the OP2 Superintendent Posts has stated that with the close of TD 90516 on 15.05.2004 the complainant (with its proceeds) opened a fresh TD of Rs 39,000/- on 15.05.2004 that stood duly paid and in right order upon its maturity but its withdrawal records entry stood omitted (in computer) due to one ‘typically’ mistake. Sic We find that the OP2/OP3 Post Office are not disclosing the date of payment of the matured TD after the issuance of the SB 46 notice of 25.11.2014 on the pretext of deletion/ omission of entry by some computer ‘operating’ mistake but they have not either straightaway rebutted the ‘payment’ of the matured TD. Somehow, the complainant has also not been able to provide the ‘correct’ date of matured TD payment but it lies in between 25.11.2014 i.e., the date of SB 46 notice and some date before 17.01.2015 the date of complainant’s legal notice for payment of interest for the overdue period (from 15.03.2004 to the date of actual payment of the matured TD). For the sake of fixing/ giving ‘finality’ to the matter in issue we let this date of TD maturity payment to be taken as: 30.11.2014 for the interest-payment purposes and thus the OP2 &OP3 Post Offices are liable to pay interest on the TD amount of Rs.35,000/- from 15.03.2004 to 30.11.2014 at the applicable interest rate under the Post Office Rules besides cost and compensation for the exhibited ‘deficiency in service’ as proved during the proceedings held under the provisions of the C.P. Act.      

7.       In the light of the all above, we partly allow the present complaint and thus ORDER the OP2 & OP3 Post Office authorities to pay interest on the TD principal amount held at their end for the overdue period from the maturity date of 15.03.2004 to the judiciously affixed date of maturity payment 30.11.2014 at the applicable rate of interest (under the Post Office Rules) to the complainant besides to pay him Rs.5,000/- as cost and compensation for having suffered harassment etc., within 30 days of the receipt of the copy of these orders.

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

                                                                               (Naveen Puri)

                                                                                         President   

Announced:                                                              (Jagdeep Kaur)

December 28, 2015                                                          Member

*MK*