Dipika Pallikal, a squash player with a world ranking of 11, won a battle on a different court on Monday. The Arjuna awardee won her long-drawn legal match against Axis Bank in a consumer court in Chennai.
Holding the bank responsible for deficient service, the consumer court ordered it to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Pallikal and another Rs 5,000 towards costs.
In the order pronounced in the open court, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai South, also ordered the bank to pay a sum of Rs 5,000 to her as costs. The Padmashri awardee and India’s top woman Squash player Dipika said, “This is a victory for the consumers of India. It reaffirms our faith in consumer courts. It will motivate other consumers who are wronged by service providers to stand up and fight for justice.”
Dipika Pallikal took the private sector bank to court for allegedly bad service that she said had caused her own embarrassment on foreign soil as also the consequent insults to India.
Deepika’s debit card — issued by Axis Bank — which malfunctioned when she was to pay her hotel bill in Rotterdam (Holland) two years ago not only caused her stress but also humiliation before foreign players, she alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Deepika’s debit card — issued by Axis Bank — which malfunctioned when she was to pay her hotel bill in Rotterdam (Holland) two years ago not only caused her stress but also humiliation before foreign players, she alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Her debit card failed when she swiped it to pay Rs 30,000 (490 euros) as hotel bill. Foreign players supposedly ridiculed her creditworthiness and bad-mouthed India too.
The internationally-acclaimed player then sued the private sector bank for Rs 10 lakh for causing her distress and mental agony. She had filed a complaint in the consumer court in 2012.
“Despite having a balance of more than ten times the value of the transaction amount, it was declined,” Dipika said in her complaint.