The commission ordered a bank to pay Rs 15,000 after it delayed the release of an 83‑year‑old farmer’s late wife’s Rs 62,541 savings account for 30 days.
The account was held in a local branch; the nominee—his son—had died in 2022, and the mother’s death followed later that year, leaving the farmer as the sole legal heir.
He first approached the branch on May 2023, submitting death certificates and a legal‑heir certificate on August 5, 2023. The bank cited a need for a legal opinion, then asked for additional documents in a letter dated August 18, 2023. The funds finally cleared into his account on September 4, 2023, after more paperwork was turned in.
The farmer complained to the consumer commission, arguing that the delays forced him to make repeated visits to a branch he could barely navigate because of limited English.
The commission said banks must communicate in Hindi, English or the regional language, and that the RBI’s 2005 charter obliges banks to keep procedures simple for deceased‑depositor claims. It criticised the bank’s overly technical approach and ruled that the delay was a failure to explain required documents clearly.
The farmer was awarded Rs 10,000 in compensation and Rs 5,000 for litigation costs, totalling Rs 15,000.
The bank must now comply with the order and the case signals that banks will face tighter scrutiny when handling elderly claimants.