Delhi consumer court directs SBI to pay customer 1.7 lakh for dishonouring cheques despite sufficient balance

Chayya Sharma, a resident of Karawal Nagar, who has a savings account with SBI’s Karawal Nagar branch, availed a car loan of ₹2.6 lakh from HDFC Bank, repayable in 48 EMIs of ₹7,054 each. She claimed that despite maintaining sufficient balance, 11 of her EMIs had bounced, and charges of ₹4,400 had been levied on her.

“The Respondent No. 1 (SBI) should be stopped from blowing hot and cold in the same breath as it cannot have a contrary stand for not honouring 11 disputed EMIs and clearing the other EMIs, through the ECS on the same ECS Mandate,” the Commission said in an order dated October 9.

The Electronic Clearing System, or ECS, allows banks to automatically deduct payments from a client’s account with their permission.

“…the ECS towards 11 EMIs were not cleared/honoured does not seem to be plausible because on the same ECS Mandate Form, the remaining EMIs pertaining to the loan were cleared by Respondent No. 1,” it added.

Sharma approached the Commission against an order passed in January 2021, which had rejected her claims.

“In view of the above discussions, I am of the considered view that the impugned order passed by Ld District Forum suffers from illegality,” the Commission said in its order.

As per the Commission, SBI had failed to provide any evidence to show that Sharma’s account was insufficiently funded, and that dishonouring EMIs and charging bounce fees had constituted a “deficiency in service”.

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