Case: THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POST OFFICE, BOLANGIR DIVISION, BOLANGIR, ODISHA Vs. JAMBU KUMAR JAIN

3. Complaint, being CDC No.43 of 2015 was filed by the respondent herein before the District Forum (District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Bolangir, Odisha) contending inter alia that 88 Indira Vikas Patras (IVP, for short) of the denomination of Rs.5000/- each, purchased by the father of the complainant sometime during the period 1996 to 1998, were lost in the month of June 2001. A police complaint was lodged on 25.06.2001 alleging theft of those IVPs and thereafter by intimation dated 14.07.2001 a request was made to the Superintendent of Post Offices, Bolangir to stop payment of any amount upon maturity of the IVPs without proper verification of the holder. It was further submitted that despite demands made by the complainant, the value of the lost IVPs was not being made over by the Post Office to him and as such, there was deficiency in service on part of the Post Office. With the aforesaid allegations, the following principal reliefs were claimed in the complaint:(i) The O.P. be directed to pay the maturity value of 88 numbers of IVP of Rs.5,000/- each denomination = Rs.8,80,000/- and due interest till final payment is made,(ii) A sum of Rs.1,00,000/- as claimed as compensation for deficiency in service and loss caused to the complaint and Rs.10,000/- is claimed towards the cost of litigation4. In its reply, the appellant submitted that in terms of Indira Vikas Patra Rules, 1986, (the Rules, for short), no formal application was necessary to purchase the IVPs and in case the IVPs were purchased by cash, the identity of the purchaser would not be recorded by the Post Office in any document nor any receipt would be issued at the time of issuance of the IVPs, that all the IVPs were bearer instruments like currency notes; that there was no proof or evidence that any consideration was paid by the complainant; and that the complainant could not be termed as a consumer within the meaning of the Act (The Consumer Protection Act, 1986) . It was further submitted that the Rules were binding on the Department and since it had acted purely in terms of the Rules, there was no deficiency on its part5. The aforesaid complaint was allowed by the District forum vide its order dated 30.03.2016 and it was directed as under:We hereby direct the O.P. to release payment of the maturity value of 88 nos. of IVPs bearing No.63C 113623 to 113666 and 3515 to 3558 and 113667 to 113710 and 3559 to 3602 respectively amounting to Rs.8,80,000/- (Rupees Eight Lakh Eighty thousand) only, to the petitioner after furnishment of an indemnity bond from the petitioner within thirty-five days of this order. Non compliance will attract a penalty of Rs.20 per day till realization6. The appellant being aggrieved filed Appeal No.356 of 2016 before the State Commission (State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Cuttak, Odisha) , which was dismissed by the State Commission on the ground of non-prosecution. The matter was carried further by filing Revision Petition No.2116 of 2018 before the National Commission7. The submissions advanced on behalf of the appellant were recorded as under:The Learned Counsel for the Petitioner contended that since inception the Respondent is not a Consumer and no deficiency in service has been committed on the part of the Petitioner and the Complaint of the Respondent is not maintainable. As per Rule 7(2) and 10 of the IVP Rules, 1986, the Respondent is not entitled to any claim and hence his claim has been rejected by the DepartmentHowever, the view taken by the District Forum was accepted by the National Commission. It was observed in order dated 11.09.2018:The Respondents Father had purchased 88 IVPs for a total amount of Rs.8.8 lakhs. The same were lost and a Police Complaint was filed. The claim of the Respondent on maturity was rejected. Several years have elapsed and the amount deposited still lies with the Postal Department. So far there appears no other claimant for the amount. It certainly cannot be the case of the Petitioner to appropriate the entire amount forever, since the lost documents has not been submitted to them. It is but fair and reasonable that after proper verification and taking due precautions like idemnity bond etc., the Department after securing its interests, should at least pay the maturity value to the Respondent, after having not succeeded in the several rounds of litigation. This Commission way back in the year 2002, in a matter of similar nature has elaborately discussed the issues and directed the department to release the money, as sufficient time had elapsed since the date of maturity. Therefore, it clearly appears that there is no error in the order passed by the District Forum8. Thereafter, Review Application No.355 of 2018 was preferred by the appellant. However, said Review Application was also dismissed by the National Commission vide order dated 11.10.20189. The aforesaid two orders passed by the National Commission are presently under appeal before us18. In this case, 160 IVPs of the denomination of Rs.5000/- each, were stated to have been lost and the claimant in this case and the claimant in the earlier matter are members of the same family. Similar relief was granted by the District Forum and the National Commission, which orders are presently under appeal before us.

Court's reasoning:
12. It is not in dispute that the IVPs in the present matter were purchased through cash. At no stage, the identity of the purchaser was thus disclosed or registered with the Department. In a situation, where the IVPs were purchased either through Cheque of Pay Order or Demand Draft, there would still be a possibility, through link evidence, to establish the identity of the purchaser but in case of a purchase through the modality of cash, there would be nothing on record which could establish the identity of the purchaser. It may be that there are no claims in respect of the IVPs in question but that does not mean that any person can claim maturity sum in respect of such IVPs and offer an indemnity13. The matter has to be considered purely from the perspective of the governing Rules. If in case the IVPs are lost/stolen or mutilated or defaced beyond recognition, the Rules are clear that they shall not be replaced by the Post Office. In the face of such statutory provision, the refusal on the part of the Department to entertain any request for maturity sum was absolutely right and justified. It can never be said that there was deficiency on the part of the Department in rendering any service expected of themIf the Department had refused to encash the Certificates upon presentation or even after encashment had refused to make the payment or had made short payment, there could still be a grievance about deficiency in service but if the Certificates themselves are lost and the identity of the initial holder could never be established through the record, the Department was well within its rights not to accept the prayer for return of the maturity sum14. In Central Government of India and others vs. Krishnaji Parvetesh Kulkarni(2006) 4 SCC 275  , similar prayer made through a writ petition, was rejected by this Court with following observations:-An IVP is akin to an ordinary currency note. It bears no name of the holder. Just as a lost currency note cannot be replaced, similarly the question of replacing a lost IVP does not arise. Rule 7(2) makes the position clear that a certificate lost, stolen, mutilated, defaced or destroyed beyond recognition will not be replaced by any post office. Similar is the position as regards the certificate which is either lost or stolen. Undisputedly there was no challenge to the legality of the rule 7(2). In the absence of a challenge to the provision, any direction should not really have been given. It is fundamental that no direction which is contrary to law can be given15. In our view, the District Forum and the National Commission completely erred in accepting the claim19. It is somewhat strange that only the IVPs were lost in both the cases by the family and no other instrument was lost. Be that as it may, for the reasons recorded in Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (Civil) Nos.16164-16165 of 2019, these appeals also deserve to be allowed.