A State Bank of India branch in Haliyal, Karnataka will have to pay a fine of Rs 85,177 for dishonouring a cheque as they failed to properly recognise a Kannada numeral on it.
Vadirajacharya Inamdar issued a SBI cheque for Rs 6,000 to Hubli Electricity Supply Company Limited (HESCOM) towards his electricity bill on September 3, 2020. HESCOM’s account is with Canara Bank and therefore the cheque was sent to the SBI branch for clearance.
The SBI branch wrongly identified the Kannada numeral nine as six and, therefore, dishonoured the cheque. The numeral nine indicated the month of September, but the bank read it as June.
Inamdar, an English lecturer in the Government PU College in Hubballi, approached the Consumer Forum with his complaint. The Dharwad District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum found the SBI deficient in its service and imposed the fine.
(With inputs from PTI)