Win for city couple: Consumer body pins 2cr fraud on postal dept, asks to pay up

Raipur: Terming the case a clear instance where consumers' trust in a govt-run savings institution was breached, The Chhattisgarh state consumer disputes redressal commission directed the postal department to pay over Rs 1.91 crore, with interest, to a retired couple and their daughter, whose savings vanished from multiple term deposit accounts. In a detailed 21-page order, commission president Justice Gautam Chourdiya and Member Pramod Kumar Varma on Jan 29 partly allowed a complaint filed by Dr Anil Kumar Pandey, his wife Dr Rama Pandey, and their daughter Roli against the Department of Posts and its Raipur-based officials.The complainants, residents of Rohinipuram in Raipur, alleged that they deposited their retirement benefits and lifetime savings in 19 Term Deposit (TDR) and 2 Recurring Deposit (RD) accounts at the Pt Ravishankar Shukla University Sub-Post Office through authorised agents, but the department failed to pay them the maturity amounts and allowed unauthorised withdrawals.They claimed a total of Rs 1,97,42,705, including the maturity value of the deposits, interest, compensation for mental agony, and litigation costs. The couple said they invested the money for their daughter's marriage and their old age, issued cheques only in the name of the Postmaster, and received passbooks bearing the post office seal and the Postmaster's signature. During the proceedings, the Postal Department admitted that its agents were attached to the concerned Sub-Post Office, but argued that the complainants dealt directly with the agents, who were appointed through the district collector's office, and therefore the department could not be held responsible for their fraudulent acts.The department also relied on its Citizen Charter and agency rules to claim that any misappropriation by agents appointed under a state mechanism was the liability of the state govt, and further alleged that several passbooks produced by the complainants were forged. But the commission rejected these defences, holding that the mechanism of appointing agents through the collector did not absolve the postal department of responsibility for the acts of its own agents, whose activities were directly linked to its regular financial business. It relied on judgments of the Supreme Court and National Consumer Commission, including Pradeep Kumar vs Post Master General and Superintendent of Posts vs Prabhakar Keshavlal Mehta, to reiterate that the post office is liable for fraud or negligence committed by its employees or agents in the course of their functions.A departmental inquiry conducted earlier by the Postal Department itself found that 17 passbooks issued to the complainants were fraudulently prepared by misusing discontinued RD passbooks and converting them into fake TD accounts by overwriting entries and affixing forged seals. The commission noted that while the department blamed the agents, the presence of postal seals and the fact that cheques were issued in favour of the Postmaster indicated connivance or, at minimum, serious negligence by postal officials.The commission also recorded that despite complaints by the Pandey family from May 2021 onwards and an internal inquiry report pointing to tampering by agents, the postal department failed to initiate timely criminal or corrective action to safeguard the investors' interests, which it termed a deficiency in service.While the commission declined to accept 3 disputed accounts for want of originals or photocopies of passbooks, it held that 18 TDR accounts stood proved through original passbooks bearing the post office seal and the postmaster's signature, and that there was no credible evidence to show that maturity amounts from the accounts were paid to the complainants.Holding the department liable, the commission directed them to pay Rs 1,91,39,965 towards the maturity amount of the 18 TDRs, along with simple interest at 6 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the complaint (Nov 20, 2023), within 45 days. In addition, the commission awarded Rs 1 lakh as compensation for harassment and mental agony and Rs 15,000 as litigation costs, terming the case a clear instance where consumers' trust in a govt-run savings institution was breached due to fraud by agents and inaction by postal authorities.