STATE BANK OF INDIA Vs. PALLABH BHOWMICK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. A. Parvez, learned counsel for the appellant. Also heard Mr. Pallabh Bhow-mick/respondent No. 1, in person; Mr. P. Hazarika, learned counsel for the respondent No. 2 and Mr. D. K. Sarma, learned counsel for the respondent No. 5.

(2.) This intra-Court appeal is directed against the judgment and order dtd. 30/9/2022, passed by the learned Single Judge in WP(C) No. 1900/2022, whereby, the learned Single Judge, has set aside the order dtd. 7/3/2022, passed by the Ombudsman, Reserve Bank of India, and directed the appellant to deposit an amount of Rs.94, 204.80 (Rupees Ninetyfour thousand two hundred four and Eighty Paisa) only, in the bank account of the petitioner with a liberty to recover the amount from the respondent No. 3.

(3.) The brief facts of the case, are that the respondent No. 1/petitioner is having a Savings Bank (SB) Account bearing No. 10823993373 with the State Bank of India (SBI), Guwahati Branch. He had made an online purchase of some garment from the Louis Philippe store which he wanted to return and get the money back. On 18/10/2021, the respondent No. 1/petitioner had received a call from a fraudster, who was later identified as the respondent No.4, namely Papendra Kumar, from the State of Uttar Pradesh. Posing himself as Customer Care Manager of the Louis Philippe, the respondent No. 3, the fraudster had asked the petitioner to download a 'mobile app' for the purpose of making a refund of Rs.4,000.00 (Rupees Four thousand) only in lieu of return of a garment earlier purchased by him. Believing bonafide that the call was from the customer care department 'Louis Philippe' the respondent No. 1/petitioner had downloaded the 'mobile app'. Soon thereafter, a sum of Rs.94,204.00 (Rupees Ninety-four thousand two hundred four) only was siphoned off from the bank account of the respondent no. 1/petitioner by three separate online transactions. An amount of Rs.64,017.00 (Rupees Sixty-four thousand seventeen) was transferred from the bank account of the respondent no. 1/petitioner by Payment Gateway (PG) transactions. Immediately, thereafter, two other transactions took place for the amounts of Rs.30,186.00 (Rupees thirty thousand one hundred eighty six). The said fraudulent transactions took place on 18/10/2021 through mobile phones bearing number +91 7789956974 and +91 9188762299. The amounts were initially transferred to the beneficiary account in the Federal Bank and thereafter, shifted to other bank accounts.