New Delhi, Oct. 14 (PTI): The Delhi consumer commission has directed State Bank of India to pay Rs 4.10 lakh to a 62-year-old woman and her daughter-in-law for misplacing a draft 10 years ago.

“If there is either mishandling or loss (of cheques/drafts) from the custody of the bank and they are deposited or encashed by (an) unauthorised person, it amounts to deficiency in service for which the bank has to compensate the consumer,” commission president Justice J.D. Kapoor said.

The observation came on a complaint by Sheela Wanti and her daughter-in-law Sunita Nagpal, who alleged that the bank misplaced a draft of Rs 4 lakh they deposited in June 1997.

The bank claimed that the complainants had committed fraud by opening another account in a different bank and withdrawing the entire amount. The commission, however, said the pay-in-slip with the bank stamp showed that the bank had received the draft and that it had even lodged an FIR regarding the loss of the document.