While upholding compensation for mental agony and granting affected customers the liberty to approach civil courts for recovery of actual losses, the national consumer disputes redressal commission (NCDRC) has dismissed a batch of 57 revision petitions in a long-running dispute involving alleged thefts from bank lockers at Nashik District Central Cooperative (DCC) Bank. The order marks the culmination of litigation that has spanned more than a decade and involved several agriculturists from Nashik district in Maharashtra.
In an order last month, the NCDRC bench of Dr Inder Jit Singh and justice Dr Sudhir Kumar Jain says, "We are of the considered view that district commission could not have assessed the loss of contents of locker and state commission was justified in modifying the district commission's order on this aspect and observing that in the absence of positive evidence regarding total value of gold, for which detailed evidence is necessary, the complainant is entitled only for compensation towards mental and physical harassment and not the price of gold, as directed by the district commission. However, state commission has not specifically stated in its order that complainants are free to approach the civil court with respect to compensation for actual loss of locker contents."
"As regards state commission's decision to enhance the compensation for mental agony and harassment from ₹25,000 as granted by district commission to ₹3 lakh and litigation cost from ₹10,000 as granted by the district commission to ₹50,000, we are of the considered view that in view of peculiar facts of the case, where the complainants are under great mental stress and for the last more than 10 years and have been made to fight a legal battle at three levels district commission, state commission and now at national commission level and have now been relegated to civil court, compensation of ₹3 lakh and litigation cost of ₹50,000 are fully justified," the order says.
The case originated from complaints by locker holders who alleged that gold ornaments stored in lockers at a branch of the bank were stolen due to inadequate security arrangements. According to the findings of the district consumer commission, Nashik DCC Bank had failed to install basic safeguards such as CCTV cameras, alarm systems and adequate security personnel, leading to the theft.
Based on these findings, the district commission had directed the bank to compensate complainants for the value of stolen gold, which, in one instance, was reported to be about 430 grams.
However, the state consumer disputes redressal commission later modified the order. While it upheld the finding of deficiency in service on the part of the bank, it declined to award compensation for the value of the gold, citing lack of conclusive evidence regarding the exact contents of the lockers. Instead, it enhanced compensation for mental agony and litigation costs, awarding ₹3 lakh and ₹50,000, respectively.
The matter then reached NCDRC through multiple revision petitions filed by both sides. The complainants challenged the denial of compensation for the stolen gold, arguing that they had submitted bills, affidavits and other evidence to prove ownership and value of the ornaments. On the other hand, the bank contested the enhancement of compensation, arguing that it exceeded the claims made in the original complaints and was legally unsustainable.
After hearing both sides, the NCDRC bench upheld the state commission’s order. The commission agreed with the concurrent findings that the bank had failed to ensure adequate safety of lockers and was therefore deficient in service.
At the same time, it ruled that consumer fora are limited in their ability to assess claims relating to the value of stolen valuables, especially where such claims require detailed examination of evidence. Referring to Supreme Court precedent, the commission observed that the determination of the exact value and ownership of locker contents cannot be carried out in summary proceedings under consumer law and must be decided by a civil court.
NCDRC also upheld the enhanced compensation for mental agony and litigation costs, noting that the complainants had been engaged in prolonged litigation for more than 10 years across multiple forums, including the district commission, state commission and the national commission.
Importantly, the commission clarified that while compensation for actual loss of gold cannot be granted in these proceedings, the complainants are free to approach the appropriate civil court to pursue such claims. It further allowed them to seek exclusion of the time spent in consumer proceedings when calculating the limitation.
With this, all 57 revision petitions—28 filed by complainants and 29 by the bank—were dismissed, bringing an end to the dispute at the level of consumer forums.
The ruling reinforces the principle that while banks can be held accountable for deficiencies in service in locker-related disputes, claims involving the valuation of lost assets require detailed adjudication beyond the scope of consumer forums. It also highlights the obligation of banks to maintain adequate security infrastructure, failing which they may be held liable for causing distress and hardship to customers.
(Revision Petition No2281 of 2023 Date: 23 March 2026)
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