SASEENDRAKUMARI Vs. STATE BANK OF TRAVANCORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The defendant in a suit for money is the appellant. Concurrent decision rendered by the two courts below granting a decree for recovery of money in favour of the respondent/ plaintiff, but, with a slight modification over the decree of trial court by the lower appellate court, as to the date from which interest is payable on the amount found due, is challenged in the appeal.

(2.) Plaintiff is a banking company, and the appellant/defendant a customer who operated an S.B account in one of its branches. Receiving an intimation from its foreign exchange department to credit 3090 U.S dollars in the account of the defendant, the bank credited the equivalent sum in Indian rupee, Rs. 1,24,650/- in that account on 20/05/1998. However, when plaintiff bank received a credit advice over the above amount later, by mistake, that sum of Rs. 1,24,650/- was again credited in the account of the defendant on 01/06/1998. The double credit so made in respect of a single credit invoice came to the notice of the bank much later, on 13/09/2002, during the reconciliation of-inter office accounts, and by that time, the defendant had already withdrawn a larger portion of the amount credited by mistake and what remained in balance in her account was only Rs. 16,007/-. Demand made by the plaintiff to reimburse the amount wrongly credited with interest not being responded, the suit was laid for recovery of a sum of Rs.2,77,314/- with interest at the rate of 15.5% per annum with quarterly rest. The above sum of Rs.2,77,314/- was calculated on the basis of reckoning the sum due on the amount deposited by mistake, on 01/06/1998, with 15% interest per annum with quarterly rest from such date and thereafter adjusting and deducting the balance amount of Rs. 16,007/- available on the account of the defendant.

(3.) The defendant resisted the suit claim contending that there was no mistake in the credits made, and whatever sum credited in her account was actually due to her and she was entitled to withdraw the sum. The balance amount in her account, Rs. 16,007/- is illegally withheld by the plaintiff was her further case. Refuting the case of the plaintiff that there was a wrongful credit in her account by mistake, the defendant also impeached the case of the plaintiff that such mistake came to its notice much later, only on 13/09/2002. Suit claim was challenged by the defendant as barred by limitation disputing the cause of action alleged that the mistake in the credit was detected only on 13/09/2002.