Sahara India told to pay Rs 7 lakh plus interest to senior citizen

Hyderabad: A district consumer forum here has directed Sahara India Limited to pay a senior citizen 7 lakh in maturity with 9% annual interest. The forum's decision came after the firm failed to release the fixed deposit amount after maturity despite the complainant submitting the necessary documents. Raj Kumari Tiwari, the complainant, submitted that she made 15 deposits in June 2012, each with a maturity value of 47,016 after eight years, with Sahara India Limited. She stated that after June 2020, she approached the firm several times and requested the release of the amount. She alleged that the employees at the firm neglected her requests and failed to release the amount despite multiple requests. She filed a complaint with the commission on Nov 15, 2022, alleging a deficiency in service on the part of the firm and seeking a refund and compensation. The complainant said she even considered the forum's suggestion and tried to register on the Sahara Online Portal in April this year and was granted an initial refund of 10,000. However, she stated that when the claim amount is more than 50,000, depositors are mandated to submit various documents — membership number, deposit account number, Aadhar-linked mobile number, deposit certificates or passbook, and PAN card — with their claim requests. About a month after submitting documents, she said she received communication saying there was a discrepancy in her name and that she needed to submit an affidavit. When she tried to resubmit the claim, Tiwari said she couldn't, as the portal is only accepting applications for claim amounts of 5 lakh or less. During the trial, the bench noticed that despite receiving notice from the commission, the firm had neither appeared before the commission nor filed a written version and was thus set ex parte. "We hold that the inaction on the part of the opposite party amounts to negligence and also unfair trade practice," the bench said and directed them to pay 7,05,240 with interest at 9% per annum from June 20, 2020, till the date of payment. Apart from the refund, 10,000 was awarded to the complainant towards legal costs.