IMPORTANT POINT
Principal can be held liable for wrong committed by its Authorised Agent.

ORDER

Sudip Ahluwalia, Member—This Revision Petition has been filed against the impugned Order dated 05.11.2015 passed by the Ld. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Rajasthan in Appeal No. 707/2013 vide which, the Appeal filed by the Complainant/Respondent No. 1 was allowed, and the Order of the District Forum dismissing the Complaint was set-aside.

2. The factual background, in brief, is that the Complainant is a resident of Village Wazirpur, and that Opposite Party Nos. 1 and 2 are officials of the Wazirpur Post Office, while Opposite Party No. 3 is an agent appointed by the said Post Office. The Complainant had opened an account bearing No. 97268 on 13.08.1996 under the Fixed Recurring Deposit (FRD) scheme with the Post Office for depositing a sum of Rs.2,000/- per month as a part of the small savings scheme. The Complainant continued to deposit Rs.2,000/- monthly, and as on 03.06.2000, a total sum of Rs.1,20,000/- stood deposited. With interest accrued thereon, the total maturity amount as per Post Office norms stood at Rs.1,66,000/-. The Complainant had availed a loan of Rs.32,000/- on 07.04.1999 against his deposited sum of Rs.64,000/-, which he repaid on 31.05.2000 by depositing Rs.32,000/- towards principal and Rs.5,600/- towards interest, totalling Rs.37,600/-. This repayment was duly recorded in the passbook, and subsequent monthly deposits continued. The passbook reflected the entire deposited sum of Rs.1,20,000/-, duly stamped and signed by the Post Master. Upon maturity of the deposit on 03.06.2000, when the Complainant approached the Post Office for disbursal of the matured amount of Rs.1,66,000/-, he was informed that the repayment entry of Rs.37,600/- was not available in the official records, and therefore the claim for the matured amount could not be honoured. The Complainant states that this refusal was entirely baseless and illegal, as the repayment entry was clearly present in the passbook, which also bore the official stamp and signature of the Post Master.

3. The Complainant asserts that the entire deposit and repayment history was properly recorded in the passbook, and any discrepancies or fraud, if at all, were internal to the Post Office and not attributable to the Complainant. In case the repayment of Rs.37,600/- had indeed not been made, subsequent monthly deposits of Rs.2,000/- should not have been permitted and recorded, which negates the Opposite Parties’ contention. Upon refusal of the Post Office to disburse the matured amount, the Complainant sent a registered Legal Notice dated 30.10.2001 to the Opposite Parties, which was duly received. In reply, the Opposite Parties stated that the entry of Rs.37,600/- was incorrectly made in the passbook and that the Post Office was not responsible for the same as the entry did not bear the Post Office’s stamp and signature. The Complainant disputes this claim, asserting that the entry is indeed duly stamped and signed by the Post Master and that the original passbook is in the custody of the Post Office and must be summoned for verification. The Complainant has produced a photocopy of the passbook for reference. The Opposite Party No. 3 was an agent duly appointed and authorized by Opposite Party Nos. 1 and 2 to accept deposits on behalf of the Post Office. Therefore, all three Opposite Parties are jointly and severally liable for the deficiency in service and the financial loss suffered by the Complainant. Aggrieved with the deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the Opposite Parties, he filed his Complaint before the Ld. District Forum, Sawai Madhopur.

4. The District Forum vide its Order dated 29.05.2013 dismissed the Complaint, with liberty to approach the Civil Court. The Complainant then filed his Appeal before the Ld. State Commission, which vide the impugned Order dated 05.11.2015 allowed the same and set-aside the Order of the District Forum. The State Commission directed the Opposite Parties to pay to the Complaina