Delhi consumer commission orders Union Bank to pay Rs 47 lakh over locker jewellery
The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission held Union Bank of India deficient in service over a joint locker and ordered it to pay Rs 47 lakh for missing jewellery, with interest.
Key points
- The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered Union Bank of India on 27 October 2026 to pay Rs 47 lakh for a customer's locker jewellery.
- Interest is 6% a year from 1 September 2018 if the bank pays by 27 December 2026, and 9% a year until payment if it does not.
- The commission held the bank could show no surrender receipt or request for the locker, which it kept charging rent on.
The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on 27 October 2026 ordered Union Bank of India to pay a customer Rs 47 lakh, the value of jewellery in a joint locker, with interest. The commission held the bank deficient in service after it treated the locker as surrendered but could produce no proof of surrender.
What Happened
According to the order, the customer had held a joint locker at the bank's Naraina Vihar branch in New Delhi with her father-in-law since 1998. He died on 29 August 2010. When she approached the branch on 1 September 2018 to operate the locker, she was told it had been surrendered on 22 January 2015. The bank, in its reply, said the locker was surrendered on 21 May 2005 and called the rent it kept debiting a bona fide mistake.
The commission noted from the account statement that locker rent was debited, including on 25 September 2018. It found the bank placed on record no receipt of surrender, no request from the customer to surrender the locker, and no receipt for the locker's contents. On that basis the commission held that the customer never surrendered the locker and that her belongings were misappropriated by the bank. It also rejected the bank's objections on jurisdiction.
The bank must pay Rs 47 lakh with 6% simple annual interest from 1 September 2018 to 27 October 2026 if it pays by 27 December 2026. If it misses that date, interest rises to 9% a year from 1 September 2018 until payment. It must also pay Rs 3 lakh for mental agony and harassment and Rs 50,000 in litigation costs.
What It Means
The order shows that a bank claiming a locker was surrendered must be able to produce the paperwork, and that continuing to charge rent weighs against it. Locker holders may wish to keep their rent receipts and account statements.
The order is the State Commission's finding and may be appealed. Bank customers with locker or service complaints can approach the RBI at https://cms.rbi.org.in or the National Consumer Helpline (1915).
Source: Consumer commission order
Sources & Citations
- Consumer commission order — Consumer commission