STATE BANK OF PATIALA Vs. HARI RAM GARG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will dispose of appeal No. 687 of 2005 filed by the State Bank of Patiala against the order of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Mansa dated 13.4.2005 as also Revision Petition No. 24 of 2005 filed by the complainant against the order of the District Forum, Mansa dated 27.4.2005.

(2.) BRIEF facts, which are not much in dispute, may be noticed :

(3.) THE bank resisted the claim by stating that the cheque had been sent through a courier service, which was normal procedure, but the courier service informed the bank that the mail had been delivered at a wrong address. It was the case of the bank that on 18.12.2004 they had served a legal notice upon the courier service and had simultaneously requested the complainant to present a new cheque and as such it could not be said that the bank was in any way deficient in rendering service. After appreciating the evidence on the record and relying on a judgment of the Union Territory Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh reported as in State Bank of Patiala v. Vishwas Ahuja,2004 1 CPJ 413, wherein it was held that the complainant in such cases is entitled to the recovery of the loss equivalent to the value of the cheque, the District Forum passed an order in favour of the complainant on 13.4.2005, which reads as under :