l have a (student) saving account with the ICICI Bank (Ballygunge branch). I usually operate my account through its ATM service. On June 11, 2003, I deposited Rs 2,000 at the ATM outlet at Moulali. This amount, however, has not been credited to my account. I had submitted a written complaint to the branch. A branch official later told me that the bank had found a discrepancy in my account and also that I would not get the amount deposited as there was no name and account number written on the deposit envelope. I might have forgotten to put in my name and account number but I have the deposit slip to prove that the transaction was made. Now I am totally confused and seek your legal advice.

Parthajit Paul
96/1B S.. Banerjee Road,
Calcutta 700 014

Firstly, you need to establish some sort of evidence that you have actually deposited the said amount to your account. An ATM, by facilitating payment and deposits through a machine, is essentially a substitute for the man at the bank counter. The ATM cannot count or verify the amount put in by the depositor and the receipt slip contains the figure keyed in by the person at the time of deposit. The deposit slip, which is the slip filled up and given in by the person making the transaction, indicates the amount which has been presumably put inside the envelope. Hence, the receipt slip that the machine spews out after the deposit cannot strictly be accepted as evidence of the actual amount put in. The person who manually counts the sum and matches it with the figure keyed in by the depositor and printed on the receipt slip ultimately credits the amount to the account. Under the circumstances, I would advise you to write to the bank’s head office stating the relevant facts and see if you can negotiate with the bank to come to come sort of an acceptable solution by placing any evidence of the actual deposit made on record. If this is not possible, you could approach the Consumer Redressal (District) Forum with a claim for money compensation against the bank.

I worked in a Calcutta-based private organisation for 20 years and held a mid-level executive position at its Calcutta factory. I have retired from service on June 30, 2002, from the Calcutta unit. I am yet to receive 74 per cent of my gratuity besides LTA for the financial years 1999-2000, 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, medical benefits and a bonus for the period 2002-03. These dues have been confirmed by a company letter no. DKM/ 2002, dated September 20, 2002. I am in urgent need of the money. I have requested the labour department officials several times but it has not worked. What can I do now?

Amarendra Guha,
10/61A Netaji Nagar,
Calcutta 700 040

From the facts stated, it is evident that you are no longer employed by the company. It also appears that money is due and payable by the company to you. Under the circumstances, you can file an application for winding up of the company as a creditor under section 439 of the Companies Act 1956. The letter written by the company confirming its dues will have to be annexed to the petition as evidence of admission of liability on the part of the company. Any correspondence from you in the form of a demand notice would also be useful. However, you would first have to find out where the registered office of the company is located and file the proceedings in the appropriate high court.

I was working with a private company from 1981-91 and again from 1996-2001. My service was terminated abruptly for a minor fault in presenting a pre-qualification (tender) document. I was told to put in my resignation in May 2001. Please let me know if I have any legal remedy.

S. Sengupta
15, Bechulal Road,
Calcutta 700 014

It appears from your letter that the circumstances leading to your dismissal are purely contractual in nature. In other words, the contract, which you had with your erstwhile company, would govern the terms of your service including the termination of your employment. The assumption in such cases is that when you joined the company, you accepted and/ or were aware of the terms of employment governing you as an employee of the company. In cases where the issue is a matter of the particular contract which the employee has with the company, the court is usually reluctant to interfere, unless there is a gross violation of natural justice, etc. Moreover, as we are dealing with a private company here, the normal route of legal challenge in similar matters, namely the writ jurisdiction of the high courts, will not be available in your case. Under the circumstances, you could write a letter to the appropriate person within the company stating your grievance and see if there is an internal mode of redressal available to you.

I purchased a Tata Sumo with a loan of Rs 3,02,000 from the ABN Amro Bank on November 1, 1997. Till May 2000, I paid Rs 1,30,511 as principal amount and Rs 1,04,599 as interest (Rs 2,35,110 in total) in equal instalments from my account in the same bank. I failed to pay instalments for the months of February, March and April 2000. Following this, the bank seized my vehicle with the help of hooligans while I was on the move. Subsequently, the bank withdrew three post-dated cheques in May 2000. These were against the months of February, March and April. Later, when I approached the bank for the release of my vehicle, some employees threatened me and said that the money against the three cheques would be returned. The next day, they debited two cheques to my account and after a month, sent me a banker’s cheque worth the amount of the third cheque withdrawn from my account. I returned this amount the bank. Now the fact is that I have repaid Rs 2,35,110 as the principal and the interest and also Rs 81,100 as down payment. As I have cleared nearly 80 per cent of the loan amount, how can the bank take possession of my vehicle?

Sundeep Malhotra,
Calcutta 700 025

The facts you have stated are somewhat convoluted and the last status of payments made is unclear. However, from your description it appears that the bank is more interested in taking possession of the vehicle rather than ensuring that the loan is paid off. The Calcutta High Court has held a mode of recovery by forcible means cannot be condoned and the party seeking to recover has to first apply to the court for appropriate orders. In the circumstances, you could file a complaint before the Consumer (District) Redressal Forum against the bank, for recovery of the vehicle as well as for damages. The district forum has been constituted under the Consumer Protection Act 1986 for the purpose of providing an inexpensive and efficacious remedy to consumers relating to complaints regarding defect in goods and/ or deficiency in service. Its jurisdiction extends to complaints where the value of the goods or services and the compensation, if any, claimed does not exceed Rs 5 lakh. However, the forum will not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the course of action has arisen. You will have to therefore satisfy the forum that there was sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within the period mentioned.