The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chennai, directed one of the Chennai branches of the Bank of India, to pay a sum of Rs 41,000/ along with interest and costs, to a consumer/complainant based at Chennai.
The gist of the complaint is that the Bank of India had paid a third party a sum of Rs 41,000/- from the account of a consumer/complainant, who actually forged the signature of the complainant in a withdrawal slip.The bank authorities without verifying the forged signature with that of the admitted signature of the complainant permitted the third party to withdraw the amount. Therefore, the bank became a prey to the fraud committed by the third party.Later when the complainant tried to withdraw the amount from her account, the bank authoriites told her that she had no sufficient funds in her account.The complainant was shocked and preferred a complaint in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai, which dismissed the complaint.
When the complainant preferred the appeal in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission,Chennai,the President of the State Commission, Justice.Sambath allowed the appeal and passed the judgement stating that the the Bank authorities had not properly verified the signature contained in the withdrawal slip submitted by the third party along with the admitted signature of the complainant.In the relevant case the signature submitted by the third party clearly differred from that of the admitted signature of the complainant.Moreover, the authorities of the Bank of India had also failed to call for the pass book of the complainant.In the result the bank authorities had been negligent and sufferred from deficiency of service as against the complainant and so allowed the appeal of the complainant as stated above.