Bank Liable For Delay In Presenting Cheque : Supreme Court Upholds Penalty Under Consumer Protection Act

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 15) held that a failure of the bank to present the cheque within the prescribed validity period of the cheque without any reasonable explanation would amount to 'deficiency in service' under the Consumer Protection Act. A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan upheld the liability of the Canara Bank for deficiency in rendering service to its customer, who had deposited the cheque with the bank, but the bank failed to present the instruments before the expiry of the validity period of the cheque, rendering the check to be dishonoured with the remark “stale cheque.”“A bank receiving cheques for collection acts as an agent of the customer and is under an obligation to exercise due diligence in presenting the instruments within the prescribed validity period. Failure to do so resulting in the instrument becoming stale, in the absence of any reasonable explanation, would result in negligence in the discharge of banking duties which would constitute deficiency in rendering service within the meaning of the consumer protection law.”, the Court said.The dispute arose when the respondent deposited two high-value cheques (drawn on Vijaya Bank) into her account with Canara Bank on May 29, 2018, having a total value of ₹1,06,10,768. Both cheques were dated March 3, 2018, and were valid for three months, expiring on June 2, 2018. Soon after the deposit, the cheques were initially processed and credited. They were then returned and debited with remarks such as “online cheque return”. Instead of being promptly re-presented within the validity period, the bank delayed the process, and when re-presented after expiry of the validity period, both cheques were returned unpaid with the remark “instrument out dated/stale”. The bank made a defence that there was a bank strike on May 30–31, to justify the delay; however ignored the fact that it still had working days on June 1 and June 2 to re-present the cheques before expiry, but failed to do so. Aggrieved by the NCDRC's order holding it liable for the deficiency in service and granting 10% of the cheque amount as compensation, the bank appealed to the Supreme Court. Upholding the liability for deficiency in service, the judgment authored by Justice Bhuyan observed: “we are in agreement with the view taken by the Commission that there was negligence on the part of the appellant in presentation of the two cheques of the respondent within the validity period of the cheques leading to deficiency in service on the part of the appellant qua the respondent.”The bank argued that the delay was due to a strike and operational issues. However, the Court rejected this defence, observing that once normal functioning resumed, the bank was duty-bound to act promptly. The absence of any credible explanation for not re-presenting the cheques within the remaining validity period was held to be decisive."If there is a delay in presentment for acceptance or payment of the cheque, such a delay would be excused under Section 75A if it is caused by circumstances beyond the control of the holder and not imputable to his default, misconduct or negligence. But the moment the cause of delay ceases to operate, presentment must be made within a reasonable time. What is a reasonable time for the purpose of presentment for acceptance or payment of a cheque is provided for in Section 84(2) as well as Section 105 which say that for determining what is a reasonable time, regard shall be had to the nature of the instrument, the usage of trade and of bankers and the facts of the particular case.", the court observed.However, the Court modified the impugned order to the extent that the compensation amount, which was 10% of the cheque value, was reduced to 6%. “…the compensation fixed by the Commission appears to be on the higher side by applying the standard of reasonable compensation having regard to the peculiar facts of the present case. 10 percent of the face value of the cheque amount as a token compensation would not accurately reflect the nature of the loss suffered by the complainant because the loss itself is indeterminate despite the finding of deficiency in service.”, the court observed. Accordingly, the appeal was disposed of. Cause Title: CANARA BANK VERSUS KAVITA CHOWDHARYCitation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 375Click here to download judgmentAppearance: For Appellant(s) : Mr. Brijesh Kumar Tamber, AOR Mr. Vinay Singh Bist, Adv. Ms. Arani Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. Sahas Bhasin, Adv. Mr. Yashu Rustagi, Adv. For Respondent(s) : Mr. Vinod Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Ashish Pandey, AOR

Bank Liable For Delay In Presenting Cheque : Supreme Court Upholds Penalty Under Consumer Protection Act

Yash Mittal

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