Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh, April 25 -
The Haryana Right To Service Commission has imposed a fine of Rs. 3,000 on the former branch manager of Punjab National Bank, Badli branch, Sanjeev Kishore Rohatgi, for not adhering to the prescribed service deadline. This fine will have to be deposited in the state treasury, and the receipt of the deposited fine will be submitted to the Commission within 30 days of the order, otherwise recovery will be made according to the law for non-depositing the fine.
Sharing more information, a spokesperson for the Haryana Right To Service Commission stated that the Chief Commissioner of the Commission, TC Gupta has taken suo moto in this matter and conducted a hearing on April 10 for the resolution of this case. Dr. Jitendra Malik, Sub-Divisional Officer-cum-Dairy Officer, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Jhajjar, Haryana, Amanpreet Bakshi, Branch Manager, PNB, Badli, Jhajjar, and Sanjeev Kishore Rohatgi, former Branch Manager (retd.), PNB, Badli, Jhajjar, Haryana, along with the applicant Shakuntala were present during this hearing.
During the hearing, Sanjeev Kishore Rohatgi had said that after obtaining 'principle' approval for the loan on April 21, 2022, the purchase was also made on April 24, 2022, and when the customer came for distribution, it was found that the applicant's CIBIL score was not satisfactory, so the payment was not made. This fact was also reiterated by the current branch manager Amanpreet. He further said that the reason for non-distribution can only be attributed to Sanjeev Kishore Rohatgi. When bank officials were asked why they did not check the CIBIL score before approving the loan, they said that they approve loans to promote government schemes and these things are checked only when cases arise.
The Commission has carefully considered all the facts and circumstances of this case. When a case is sponsored to the bank, it is the bank's duty to conduct preliminary investigations before granting 'principle' approval. This preliminary investigation includes whether the customer is a defaulter, whether the customer's CIBIL score is satisfactory, and whether the customer complies with the bank's guidelines and other things as per the bank's directions.
The Commission said that it is very unfortunate that in the name of promoting government schemes and assisting economically weaker sections of society, the above-mentioned bank officials first forced the complainant to purchase cattle, because of which the complainant had spent a lot of money to arrange the cattle. After purchasing cattle the bank refused to disburse the loan citing that the complaint’s CIBIL score was not satisfactory.
The Commission said that if the bank had carefully seen the CIBIL score of the complainant in the initial phase before granting 'principle' approval, then the poor applicant could have been saved from the trouble and wastage of time and money. Therefore, finding Sanjeev Kishore Rohatgi guilty of not delivering the prescribed service on time, the Commission has imposed a fine of Rs. 3,000.