How to claim your loss when your bank is robbed ?

I have here a mail from a victim of a daring bank robbery reported at the Central Bank of India branch in Chirgaon in Jhansi district in UP a month ago. Media reports emanating from Jhansi said as many as 45 lockers had been emptied out by the robbers.

I have here a mail from a victim of a daring bank robbery reported at the Central Bank of India branch in Chirgaon in Jhansi district in UP a month ago. Media reports emanating from Jhansi said as many as 45 lockers had been emptied out by the robbers.

HT Image

Let me reproduce the gist of Mr Dheeraj Gupta ‘s letter here: “We are 46 safe deposit locker owners/ hirers who have lost all our life’s savings consequent to the robbery and the bank is yet to indemnify our loss. What can we do? How do we get compensation? Can we make out a case of negligence on the part of the bank? The bank had none of the required security measures in place-not even security guards.”

Answer: The very fact that thieves could manage to enter the bank and then the strong room, break open not one or two, but 46 lockers and empty their contents speaks volumes about the security measures in place at the bank.

The Reserve Bank as well as the Indian Banks Association have given detailed instructions to banks on the security infrastructure that ought to be in place. Failure to follow that mandate constitutes negligence and the bank has to pay for the consequences.

The bank may well come up with some terms and conditions of hire signed by you (and other hirers of lockers ) saying that you will not hold the bank liable for the loss of valuables kept in the lockers, but such unfair and one-sided agreements are not even worth the paper they are written on, particularly when the bank itself failed to keep up its part of the bargain — to ensure the safety of your valuables in the locker. And remember, you are paying a separate fee for the lockers.

So first and foremost, I would suggest that all 46 consumers come together and form a group — remember there is strength in unity.

Send a letter, signed by all of you, to the RBI and the finance minister and the bank’s board, demanding immediate payment of compensation. I can quote several cases where banks have recompensed consumers.

The Punjab National Bank, for example, paid a total compensation of Rs 63.34 lakh to consumers whose valuables were stolen from 15 lockers in its Naorojinagar branch (South Delhi) in 2004. The same year, at the Malaviyanagar branch (South Delhi) of SBI, six lockers were looted and the bank paid a compensation of Rs 46.80 lakh.

So hopefully the bank will realize its responsibilities and do what is right. However, there is no need to panic if they fail to do so. All of you can file a class action suit before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

The advantage of a class action suit is that you can file one common complaint on behalf of all the 46 victims and even though the compensation amount may vary on the basis of the valuation of the contents of each locker, the Commission will hear all your cases together and give relief through one common order.

There is another advantage here: when you file a class action suit, to determine the pecuniary jurisdiction of the court, the total loss suffered by all the 46 locker holders and the compensation package would be considered and this would mean that your complaint can straight away go to the highest consumer court in the country, which is the National Commission.

Under the Consumer Protection Act, where the total value of the goods under dispute and the compensation being sought is over Rs 1 crore, the complaint can be filed before the National Commission.

For want of space, I will conclude here.

Next week, I will quote some important orders of the apex consumer court that will help strengthen your case and also give some general tips on how to protect your rights vis-à-vis safe deposit lockers.