Mumbai: The Mumbai Suburban District’s Additional Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission held Union Bank of India’s Bhandup branch accountable for delays in returning a fraudulently withdrawn amount of Rs 24,30,150 from the Security Guards Board for Greater Mumbai and Thane. The fraudulent transaction, involving a forged cheque, had transferred the amount to a third-party account.
The complaint, filed by the Board in 2021, stated that the fraudulent withdrawal occurred on December 16, 2019, when the bank cleared a forged cheque to M/s S.K. Royal Traders.
The Board contended that the bank did not alert the Board before processing the forged cheque. Despite repeated follow-ups, the Board received no resolution, leading it to escalate the matter to the Consumer Commission.
The Commission observed that while Union Bank ultimately returned the withdrawn sum to the Board in 2023, the delay constituted a clear “deficiency in service” and an “unfair trade practice.” Although the bank’s response acknowledged the fraudulent nature of the transaction, it failed to present a timely defense or legal arguments.
The Commission noted that the bank’s multilevel approval procedures were responsible for the delay, yet it assigned financial liability for the lost interest to the bank.
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Additionally, the Commission ordered Union Bank of India to pay a 6% interest rate on the withdrawn amount from December 2019 to November 2022. A litigation cost of Rs 10,000 was also levied against the bank for the protracted legal proceedings.