NCDRC case in India

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC): A Kolkata branch of the State Bank of India has been asked by the apex consumer forum to pay Rs 1.85 lakh to one of its customers. The bank is accused of breaking open his and his sister's lockers despite payment of the locker rent. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) order came on the plea of SBI against concurrent judgement of the the West Bengal State Consumer Commission and a district forum there holding the bank guilty of rendering deficient service for breaking open the lockers when the customers were not defaulters. The district forum had directed the bank to pay damages of Rs 2.15 lakh, which was modified by the state consumer commission to Rs 1.85 lakh on an appeal by SBI.
The district forum's order had come on the complaint of Tapash Kumar Majumdar, a resident of 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, who had claimed that when he and his sister had gone to the bank they came to know that their lockers had been forcibly opened along with those of the defaulters. The NCDRC dismissed the bank's plea, saying "the State Consumer Commission rightly held that Bank had failed to show to it any norm in support of their contention that the bank is entitled to break open the lockers of a consumer where there is no outstanding dues in respect of rental charge of the said locker." (State Bank of India v. Tapash Kumar Majumdar, Revision Petition No. 1915 of 2012, decided on July 2, 2012)