SUSANTA GHOSH Vs. HETALL NEGANDHI & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 15.6.2004 passed by the South 24 Pgs. District Consumer Forum in DF Case No. 66 of 2004 under which the Forum dismissed the complaint on contest without cost. Being aggrieved by that order the complainant Susanta Ghosh has preferred this present appeal challenging the order as erroneous, illegal and unsustainable. Under that impugned order the Forum has held that the complainant though a consumer under the C.P. Act cannot be said to be entitled to the reliefs claimed, since the O.P. -Bank will have the duty of issuing a fresh cheque book without printing the name of the complainant's deceased father only after the existing cheque book is completely exhausted.

(2.) THE complainant's case in the complaint was that he and his father opened a Joint S/B A/c and the cheque books issued to them contained the names of both of them but his father died during continuance of a particular cheque book and he then wrote to the Bank to delete the name of the father (vide his letter dated 11.3.2003) and issue cheque book not printing the name of the deceased father. But the O.P. Bank did not issue any such new cheque book in compliance of such a request. On the other hand it issued a cheque book which again contained the name of his deceased father. Hence he filed this case before the Consumer Forum.

(3.) THE two Members differed in opinion from the President of the Forum who held that such omission should be treated as deficiency in service. However, after giving careful consideration we are inclined to accept the view taken by the majority of Members in the impugned judgment. The essential pre -requisite for decreeing a consumer case is that the Forum must be satisfied that there has been some deficiency in service on the part of the O.P. Deficiency in service has been defined under Section 2(1)(g) of the Act. According to this definition deficiency means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance which is require to be maintained by or under any law or has been undertaken to be performed by a person in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to any service. Such fault or shortcoming, etc. will be meaningful and will have legal significance only when it is proved that it resulted in some loss or injury being suffered by the complainant. Question of granting compensation will arise only when it is proved that the complainant has sustained any adverse effect which is capable of being quantified. In the present case there is no credible case made out by the complainant showing how he suffered any loss or injury in consequence of the name of a deceased account holder having been written in the cheque along with his name. It is not believable that due to the presence of this name on the cheque in addition to the name of the appellant he would suffer any mental agony or harassment while presenting the same before a third party. The plea of appellant that he is cutting a sorry figure in the society does not stand to reason and is totally absurd. It should not be forgotten that the object of the C.P. Act is to redress some real grievance of a consumer but not to convert it into a tool for enabling the designing people to make wrongful gain and take advantage of such benevolent provisions of law. Where there is no proof of any injury the claimant should not be facilitated for making some unjustified profit. Had it been a case where the name of the appellant was not printed on the cheque at all and the name of the deceased depositor alone was there, then of course it would have been a case of deficiency in service affecting adversely the interest of the complainant. But here there has been merely an error resulting in unnecessary printing of the name of the deceased in addition to the appellant's name and nothing else. What is more, the respondent -Bank has given an undertaking that after this cheque will be exhausted they will delete the name of the deceased in the new cheque. In view of all this we do not think that there has been any deficiency in service on the part of the O.P. respondent. The impugned judgment appearing to be perfectly in order we keep it intact. In the result, the appeal be dismissed on contest without cost.