Rs. 15 Lakhs damages imposed on Bank for Leakage of bank account information

Rs. 15 Lakhs damages imposed on Bank for Leakage of bank account information

Citi Bank has been ordered by State Commission, Delhi to pay Rs. 15,00,000/- to the customer as damages for leaking his bank account information. The complainant has complained that his statement of account has been un-authorisedly and illegally leaked by the bank officials by supplying copies of the statements to a third party which his opposite party produced in the civil court at Delhi in a private dispute pending against him.

The Bank maintained that statements in question filed by the complainant are on a plain paper while the bank usually furnishes such statement of accounts on their official stationary.

                Commission observed that in any case, the copies of account of the complainant were produced before the Civil Court; such accounts are universally treated as confidential account and are not supposed to be supplied to any one without prior approval of the account holder. The availability of said account to the third party, which subscribed it in the Civil Court, is therefore a flagrant violation of confidential relationship between a bank and a customer and is a betrayal of trust.

                Commission after taking all factors into consideration fixed the amount of Rs. 15,00,000/- as compensation to be paid to complainant.