R SETHURAMAN Vs. MANAGER INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a complaint under Sec.17 read with Sec.12 of the Consumer Protection Act.

(2.) The complainant who is a manufacturer of Medicines. The complainant was having various loan facilities with the first opposite party such as open cash credit; Term Loans and Funded Loans and supply bills. The complainant had deposited several documents of title in respect of his properties. The complainant's unit became sick with effect from 1.4.1986. The opposite party promised to render financial assistance for rehabilitation, but failed to do so. The complainant sold 1 acre of land to the L. I. C. of India for Rs.9,00,000/- and amount was paid by the L. I. C. directly to the opposite party No.1 in discharging all the debts due from the complainant. As per the statement of account furnished by the first opposite party, the total amount due to it comes to Rs.8,70,854.05. But according to the complainant, the amount comes to Rs.8,82,410.27 as per the report of his Chartered Accountant. The complainant is liable to pay only simple interest of 14% p. a. from 1.4.86. It is the case of the complainant that the sale proceeds of the land sold by him to the L. I. C. of India completely wiped out all the debts and no further amount was due to the first opposite party. The first opposite party however refused to return the documents. The first opposite party also stopped to pay from March 1992. The complainant approached the other banks for financial assistance and he was asked to obtain a no objection certificate from the first opposite party. The first opposite party issued a certificate containing flase recitals and hence other banks did not offer loan to him. Hence this complaint claiming compensation in the sum of Rs.37,500/- for excess interest paid by the complainant and Rs.1,25,000/- towards loss of profits suffered by the complainant on account of non-return of documents.

(3.) The claim is resisted by the opposite party. According to the opposite party, the amount outstanding and due from the complainant as on 3.2.92 is Rs.14,45,738/-. The first opposite party gave permission to the complainant to sell one of the items to L. I. C. of India and the assurance that the sales proceeds paid to it. Accordingly a sum of Rs.9,00,000/- was received from the L. I. C. of India. There was still a balance of Rs.4,63,641/- in respect of the open cash credit account, Rs.21,706/- in respect of Term Loan 1/84 and Rs.60,391/- in respect of Term Loan 4/85 in all aggregating to a sum of Rs.5,45,738/- as on 14.2.92. As on 31.1.91, the amount comes to Rs.7,08,561/-. The claim of the complainant that no further amount due is untenable. The complainant cannot also claim that he is liable to pay simple interest at 14%. There is no question of returning the documents when such amounts are due still. The opposite party do not admit that the complainant's firm became sick. The account submitted by the complainant's Auditor is not acceptable. The calculation made by him is incorrect. It is denied that this first opposite party his issued a no objection certificate containing false recitals. The complainant was enjoying various credit facilities and these facilities were not stopped. The certificated issued is a true one. There is no deficiency of service and negligence on the part of the opposite parties.