SBI to compensate victim of cyber fraud

Court orders SBI to repay fraud victim, setting a precedent for robust consumer protection in cybercrime.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

The Delhi High Court came to the rescue of a Noidabased 55-year-old academician who lost Rs 2.60 lakh to cyber fraud despite not sharing a one-time password but was refused any assistance by both the State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India. After several efforts by the petitioner, the banking ombudsman asked the SBI to compensate him with a meager Rs 33,000 for his loss, after which he approached the court.

In a ruling with wide ramifications in the field of protecting the rights of consumers and placing the onus of protecting the rights of its customers on banks, Justice Dharmesh Sharma , in his order on 18 November, asked SBI to return Rs 2.60 lakh to the victim with 9 percent interest from the date the fraud was reported, along with Rs 25,000 as costs for legal proceedings, making the bank liable to pay Rs 3.90 lakh in total.

This judgment is being seen as a departure from the norm, where courts in most cases rule in favor of financial institutions if they are able to show that the victim, under the impression that he/she was interacting with a bona fide official, ‘clicked’ or submitted details that led to the fraud.