POST MASTER Vs. MURLIDHAR AGGARWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition has been filed by the Post Master and Others (hereinafter referred to as the 'Petitioners') being aggrieved by the order of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the 'State Commission') in Appeal No. 527/ 2005 in favour of Murlidhar Aggarwal and another (hereinafter referred to as the 'Respondents'). The facts of the case according to the Respondents/Complainants before the District Forum are that they had purchased 20 Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) on 8.11.2002 of Rs. 5,000 denomination each totalling to Rs. 1 lakh from Post Office, Malka Ganj, Delhi in their joint names which were to mature on 15.8.2003 and the maturity value of the same were Rs. 2 lakh. The said KVPs were issued in lieu of old KVPs bearing No. 35 BB 937931 to 35 BB 937934 and 35 BB 933735 to 35 BB 933750 which were in the name of one Dalip Kumar and were transferred from the Post Office, Kota, Rajasthan. The transaction pertaining to purchase of the above KVPs by the Respondents was facilitated by one Jag Mohan Singh, an authorized agent of the National Savings Organization (NSO) after payment of the transfer fee to Post Office, Malka Ganj, Delhi for issuing the new KVPs in their names. Due to financial constraints on 19.2.2003, the Respondents applied for premature encashment of the said KVPs followed by a reminder on 9.4.2003. In response, Petitioners expressed their inability to permit premature encashment of the KVPs vide letter dated 21.4.2003 from the Sr. Superintendent of Posts, Northern Division, Delhi which stated that the said KVPs were issued in lieu of stolen KVPs and the Petitioner/Department had lodged an FIR with the Police to this effect which is under investigation and as such payments through these instruments could not be permitted. Since, Respondents were bona fide purchasers of the said KVPs and had obtained the same after taking due care through an authorized agent on payment of necessary fees, they filed a complaint before the District Forum on grounds of deficiency in service on the part of the Petitioners in illegally and unauthorized not permitting encashment of the KVPs and requested that the Petitioners be directed to pay them the maturity value of these KVPs i.e. Rs. 2 lakh with interest @ 15% per annum, Rs. 25,000 as damages and Rs. 10,000 as cost of litigation, etc.

(2.) Petitioners denied the above contentions and stated that the earlier KVPs which were got transferred by Dalip Kumar fraudulently were never issued by any Post Office but were stolen during transmission, between Indian Security Press, Nasik and North-East Stamp Depot, Gauhati. These certificates had, therefore, no maturity value and they were got issued by the Respondents with the connivance of Dalip Kumar by playing a fraud on the Petitioner/ Department. Further, Jag Mohan Singh, the authorized agent of the National Savings Organization also had a role in the fraud and following a departmental inquiry, his agency was terminated.

(3.) The District Forum after hearing both parties and on the basis of evidence filed before it, allowed the complaint by observing as follows: