SHIVAMOGGA: The Shivamogga District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Manappuram Finance Ltd. to compensate a Chikkamagaluru resident after finding the company guilty of committing a deficiency in service by seizing a customer’s lorry without a legal notice.
Talib Pasha bin Ansar Pasha, a resident of Gaurapura, Ajjampura in Tarikere taluk, had taken a loan of Rs 8.3 lakh from Manappuram Finance Ltd., Shivamogga branch, under a “loan-cum-hypothecation” agreement for the purchase of a lorry bearing registration number KA-52 B-4032. The agreement included repayment through 52 EMI instalments. At the time of availing the loan, the complainant had also handed over six blank cheques as security.
Later, the vehicle met with an accident and was seized by the police. On February 20, 2024, Pasha retrieved the lorry from police custody and sent it for repairs. However, he alleged that the finance company repossessed the lorry through its agents without serving any prior notice or obtaining a court order, violating the terms of the hypothecation agreement.
Pasha had submitted a written request to the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) in Tarikere not to transfer the vehicle’s ownership to anyone else. Despite this, the finance company allegedly took possession of the vehicle and rented it out to one Mujir Pasha of Venus Automobiles, Hassan.
Talib Pasha claimed that even after repaying Rs 1.87 lakh, he was suffering a daily loss of Rs 1,500 due to the seizure, and he filed a complaint before the consumer commission citing service deficiency.
The Commission, after reviewing the affidavits, supporting documents, and hearing both sides, concluded that Manappuram Finance had seized the vehicle unlawfully and without due process, constituting a deficiency in service. The Commission partially upheld the complaint and directed Manappuram Finance to return the vehicle to the complainant within 45 days from the date of the order.
In the event of non-compliance, the company must pay a penalty of Rs 1,000 per day until the vehicle is returned. It also ordered Manappuram Finance to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation for mental agony and litigation expenses, also within 45 days.
If the payment is delayed, 12% interest per annum will be charged from the date of the order until the full amount is paid. The Commission dismissed the complaint against the second and third respondents, such as Mujir Pasha and the Regional Transport Officer, Tarikere. The order was passed recently by the Commission bench comprising President T Shivanna and Member B D Yogananda Bhandya.