MALATI BHAT Vs. STATE BANK OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in this Revision Petition is directed against the order dated Sept. 30, 1991 passed by the State Commission, Bangalore allowing in part Appeal No.70 of 1991 filed before it by the respondent herein (State Bank of India) and reducing the compensation allowed to the revision petitioner by the District Forum from Rs. 35,000.00 to Rs. 25,000.00. The revision petitioner is the complainant in Complaint No. CPA/159/90- 91 on the file of the District Forum, Mysore. She had approached the District Forum with the grievance that on account of the negligence and deficiency in the service rendered to her by the Branch of the Slate Bank of India at Kuvempunagar (Mysore) in issuing an unsigned demand draft, irreparable loss, hardship, mental agony and anguish had been caused to her and she sought to recover a compensation of Rs. 90,000.00 from the Opposite Party.

(2.) At the relevant point of time the complainant was a student preparing for the A.M.I.E. Diploma and she had registered her name with the Institution of Engineers (India), Calcutta, for appearing the preliminary Sec. 'A' examination leading to the award of the A.M.I.E. Diploma. The last date for the submission of applications for the said examination scheduled to be held on June 8, 1990 was April 15,1990. As per the requirements of the Institution of Engineers (India) every application for appearing for the examination had to be accompanied by a Bank draft for Rs. 200.00. Accordingly the complainant made an application to the respondent bank at its Branch in Kuvempungar, Mysore on March 22, 1990 for the insurance of a demand draft for Rs. 200.00 and remitted Rs. 202.00 into the Bank inclusive of the charges for issuing the demand draft. A draft bearing No. 601409 was issued to her by the said Branch of the respondent Bank on the same date and a copy of the same was produced as Annexure -I before the District Forum. The complainant forwarded the said draft along with her application for appearance in the examination to the Director.

(3.) Institution of Engineers (India), Calcutta, but the latter returned the Bank draft to the complainant along with a letter dated April 23, 1990 stating that her application for appearing in the examination was not acceptable because the Bank draft was not signed by the Manager of the Bank. Thereafter, the complainant got the draft signed by the Bank Manager and sent it by Speed Post to the Director of the Institution of Engineers (India) on May 2,1990 hoping that she would be permitted to take the examination scheduled to be held on June 8,1990. But the said request was turned down by the Director of the Institution of Engineers (India) on the ground that the last date for receipt of the application had long ago expired. According to the complainant, since the next examination was to be held only after a further period of six months, the rejection of her application which was solely due to the fault of the Bank in negligently an unsigned demand draft had resulted in loss of her career by six months, waste of her hard work, great mental agony and anguish.