NAGASWAMY ASSOCIATES vs MANAGER, STATE BANK OF INDIA

IN this complaint, under Section 17 read with Section 12 of the Act, the complainant has sought compensation from the opposite party the State Bank of INdia, in a sum of Rs. 53,540/- towards interest, Rs. 3,79,400/- towards the loss of profits and for mental agony and suffering undergone by the partners in a sum of Rs. 5,00,000/-.

THE complainant is a registered Partnership Firm. THE nature of the business of the said Firm is to act as technical consultants in regard to Granite Processing Machineries and Consumables. THE opposite party Bank is its banker. THE complainant''s firm receives sales compensation towards supply of machineries and consumables direct from foreign manufacturers. M/s. Debidia, France, had effected transfer of a sum of FF. 56,292-61 through its bankers M/s. Banque National De Paris on 9.5.90 to the complainant''s account toward the sales compensation as per Ex. C 22. Ex. C 23 is its telex message. The opposite party, Bank though the said transfer was received in the month of May 1990, did not credited the said amount to the account of the complainant till 18th May 1992.

It is the grievance of the complainant that on account of which, the complainant sustained loss in a sum Rs. 53,540/- towards payment of interest to M/s. Annamalai Finance Ltd. It also suffered loss of profit in a sum of Rs. 3,79,400/- and the partners of the Firm for this inordinate delay suffered great mental agony and on that account the complainant claim compensation in a sum of Rs. 5,00,000/-.

THE opposite party filed its version. Admitted the fact of transfer of FF. 56,292-61 through bankers M/s. Banque National De Paris on 9.5.90. But it averred that the said transfer instead of being sent to Bangalore by the panel was sent to the State Bank of India, Hyderabad, and so, the opposite party that is, the State Bank of India, Overseas Branch, Bangalore could not get the information of the transfer of the said amount to the account of the complainant. It could get the information of such a transfer only on 15.11.91 when the complainant wrote a letter to the opposite party as per Ex. C 19. The opposite party further averred that as soon as the said information of the transfer was received, it contacted Hyderabad and Calcutta branches, secured the confirmation of the transfer and receipt of the said amount and immediately thereon credited the said transfer amount in a value of India currency as on 18.5.92 to the account of the complainant.

THE opposite party further averred that the conversion value of FF. 56292.60 as in the month of May 1990 was Rs. 1,72,093/- and the conversion value of the said FF as on 18.5.92 became Rs. 2,96,370/- which was credited to the account of the complainant on that day, and so, the opposite party averred that there was no negligence on their part in crediting the said transfer amount to the account of the complainant. The opposite party, next averred that the complainant, has as a matter of fact, by making the credit of the conversion value as on 18.5.92 gained profit and did not sustain any loss. The opposite party, on the basis of these averments, sought the complaint to be dismissed. During enquiry, the P.A. Holder of the complainant and the complainant filed their affidavits in evidence. The documents filed by the complainant came to be marked as Exs. C 1 to C 25. The Chief Manager of the opposite party, Bank, filed the affidavit in evidence. The documents filed by the opposite party, came to be marked as Exs. R 1 to R 20.

WE heard the learned Counsel for the parties. Perused the pleadings and the material on record.

EX. C 23 is the telex message of the transfer of the said monies by the Bankers at Paris to the State Bank of India, Hyderabad, which is dated 17.5.90. That shows the telex message of the transfer was sent to the State Bank of India, Hyderabad. The said Telex Message, reads as under :- "PAYMENT ORDER NUMBER 051510TR00-8 PLEASE PAY WITHOUT ANY CHARGES TO US FRF 56.292.60 VALUE 110590 BY ORDER OF SARL OCODIA A WASQUEHAL SETTLEMENT FACT OU 230470 IN FAVOUR OF NAGASWAMY ASSOCIATES 1ST FLOOR 419, 43RD CROSS 8TH BLOCK JAYANAGAR BANGALORE 560082 ACCOUNT NO. 23309 WITH OVERSEAS BRANCH ALMAS CENTRE BANGALORE WE CREDIT YOUR ACCOUNT WITH OURSELVES 56.272-60 ON BEHALF OF BNP STT PARIS NATIOPAR LILIE LE 11050 ENVOI FIN CL."

This shows that the said message of transfer was sent to the State Bank of India, Hyderabad for Foreign Department, Calcutta. It was not sent to the opposite party at Bangalore. This message was sent by M/s. Banque National De Paris. It is not clear as to why it was sent to State Bank of India, Hyderabad instead of State Bank of India at Bangalore, the opposite party. It is the case of the opposite party that it came to know of such a transfer only on 15.11.91 when the complainant wrote a letter as per Ex. C 19 to it. The letter dated 15.11.91, Ex. C 19 reads as under:- "Please find enclosed herewith copy of the Bank Transfer of M/s. Banque National De Paris, on behalf of Messrs. Debidia, France, made on 10.5.90. We regret to inform you that though it is 18 months, it has not yet been credited to our account. We do not understand why there should be such delay in transferring the amount to our account by your Calcutta Branch. We request you to follow it up with your Calcutta Branch to remit the proceeds immediately to our account."

The contents of this letter would make it clear the complainant wrote to the opposite party, for the first time, intimating it that the transfer of the amount which has taken place in the month of May 1990 was not credited to his account till then.

THE opposite party, immediately thereafter, contacted its branches at Hyderabad and Calcutta, secured the confirmation of the transfer of the amount as averred by the complainant in favour of the complainant and credited to the account of the complainant, the conversion value of the FF amount as on 18.5.92. The opposite party though received the information of the transfer of the amount in the month of November 1991 but it took six months time in getting the confirmation of the transfer of the said amount and getting it credited to the account of the complainant. We may find herein a certain lapse and laxity on the part of the opposite party in getting the confirmation of the transfer and crediting it to the account of the complainant.

THE rupee conversion value of FF 56292.60 as in the month of May 1990 when the amount was transferred to India was Rs. 1,72,093/- 00. THE conversion value of the same as on 18.5.92 was Rs. 2,96,370/-. That was the amount, that is, Rs. 2,96,370-00 that was credited to the account of the complainant on 18.5.92. This is the averment contained in para (8) of the version. This fact is not denied by the complainant. The complainant has claimed a sum of Rs. 53,540/- towards interest paid by him for the loan raised from M/s. Annamalai Finance Ltd. The complainant has not produced any material to substantiate this claim. The complainant has claimed compensation in a sum of Rs. 3,79,400/- towards loss of profits for the delay in getting the said amount to his account. Even in support of this claim, we do not find any acceptable material placed on record by the complainant. The complainant has claimed a further sum of Rs. 5,00,000/- towards mental agony and suffering undergone by the partners of the firm. Even for this, we do not find any acceptable material placed on record by the complainant.

THE provisions of Section 14 of the Act, provide payment of compensation to the complainant, in case the complainant had suffered any injury or loss due to the negligence on the part of the opposite party. In the present case, we do not find any loss sustained by the complainant due to delay in crediting the said amount to his account.

SO, having regard to these facts and in the circumstances of the case, we are constrained to hold that the complainant has failed to substantiate his claim. In the result, therefore, this complaint fails and it is dismissed.

The parties are directed to bear and pay their own costs. Complaint dismissed.