The Dharwad District Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum fined a State Bank of India branch in Karnataka Rs. 85,177 after failing to recognize a Kannada numeral on a check.
Vadirajacharya Inamdar issued an SBI cheque for Rs. 6,000 to Hubli Electricity Supply Company Limited (HESCOM) towards his electricity bill on September 3, 2020.
The cheque was sent to the SBI branch at Haliyal in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka for clearance as HESCOM had its account in Canara Bank.
The SBI branch in Haliyal wrongly identified the Kannada numeral nine as six and, therefore, dishonoured the cheque. The cheque was filled in Kannada including the numerals. The numeral nine indicated the month of September, but the bank read it as June.
Mr Inamdar, an English lecturer in the Government PU College in Hubballi, approached the Consumer Forum with his complaint.
In a meeting on Wednesday, the Forum, consisting of Ishappa Bhute, V A Bolishetti, and P C Hiremath, found the SBI in need of improvement in its service and imposed monetary penalties.
