Private banker ICICI Bank Ltd. was asked to pay Rs.50,000 to a customer for the loss of the sale deed of his property, which was mortgaged with the bank. While passing the ruling, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) upturned an order of a district forum’s ruling, which has asked the bank to cough up a total of Rs.25,000 in compensation.
Sixty-one-year-old Y. Manikya Prabhu, a resident of Malkajgiri, had taken a loan from ICICI Bank Ltd. and had mortgaged his property. Subsequently, he paid off the loan, and then asked the bank to return his documents.
However, the bank informed him that his documents were lost, lodged a police complaint, and notified the same in English and Telugu newspapers to caution the public from misusing them. Mr. Prabhu then approached the bank’s ombudsman, who awarded him Rs.10,000 for his loss. Not satisfied, he then approached the district forum.
The district forum, apart from awarding Mr. Prabhu Rs.25,000, also directed the bank to execute an indemnity bond in favour of the complainant, in case a third party misused the title deed. It also asked ICICI Bank Ltd. to handover a copy of the report given to the police, the newspaper publications and also to obtain a certified copy of the sale deed and link documents from the concerned Sub Registrar.
After scrutiny, the SCDRC bench noted that losing title deeds amounted to deficiency in service, and that the complainant’s loss was huge. Thereby, it increased his compensation amount to Rs.50,000.
