In a case that lays bare the callous treatment ordinary borrowers receive at the hands of India's largest public sector bank, the national consumer disputes redressal commission (NCDRC) has upheld a compensation award of ₹10 lakh against State Bank of India (SBI) — after the lender conveniently 'traced' a property title deed it had declared lost for a full decade and did so only after NCDRC issued a compulsive order to deposit the compensation amount.
In an order passed on 11 May 2026 (blob), the NCDRC bench of justice AP Sahi says, "I have been unable to find any justification, as the bank has not come up with any explanation whatsoever as to why and in what manner it had made any effort to procure the original deed, which has been produced now. In the absence of any such genuine or bona fide explanation, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the Bank was grossly negligent and its officials, in whose custody, the title deed had been entrusted, had either misplaced it or made no effort to search it, but what is more alarming is that no effort seems to have been made to carry out this exercise since 2016. It is only after the directions were issued to deposit the sum of ₹10 lakh of compensation as awarded by the state commission through the interim order by this commission that the bank awoke and has produced the original title deed without any explanation as to in what manner did they succeed in retrieving the title deed. It is not the case of the bank that the deed was procured from somebody else’s custody or had been stolen or recovered."
"I am therefore of the opinion that the state commission was fully justified in holding the appellant bank to be negligent and deficient and was therefore liable to compensate the respondent complainant for the same, who has been harassed to undertake recourse to litigation and has been contesting it for the past 10 years. The respondent complainant, therefore, definitely deserved to be compensated. There was no trace of the deed before the state commission or any dispute about its possession with the bank," justice Sahi says in the order.
The NCDRC order is a scathing indictment of SBI's conduct — and raises an uncomfortable question that the commission itself could not ignore: if the deed was truly lost, how did it suddenly materialise the moment financial consequences loomed?
The story begins in 2002, when Lucknow resident Vinay Kumar mortgaged the title deed of his property with SBI's Jail Road branch in Lucknow as security for a housing loan. He repaid the loan in full. On 7 January 2016, the loan account was formally closed. Mr Kumar wrote to the bank on 15 January 2016, requesting the return of his original title deed — a perfectly routine request that every borrower is legally entitled to make.
SBI's Jail Road branch replied on 29 February 2016, stating — with remarkable casualness — that "despite all efforts, we are unable to trace your original title deeds deposited with the bank. As soon as the original title deeds are traced, the same shall be made available to you."
Mr Kumar did not give up. He wrote again on 2 March 2016, asking that the deed be returned the moment it was traced and that it should not be misused by anyone. He wrote yet again on 16 April 2016.
SBI responded on 19 May 2016 — this time offering a certified copy of the title deed as a substitute, subject to his acceptance. Bank also published a public notice admitting that the original title deed dated 26 March 2002 had been lost.
On 30 July 2016, the bank sent Mr Kumar a certified copy of the title deed — a letter that bore his acknowledgement of receipt — while simultaneously informing him that the original remained untraceable and that he would be updated on any progress.
Having exhausted all options, Mr Kumar filed a first information report (FIR) on 9 September 2016. SBI, notably, filed a lost article information report with the police only months later, on 20th and 22 February 2017.
In 2017, Vinay Kumar filed a complaint before the Uttar Pradesh state consumer disputes redressal commission alleging a deficiency of service.
The state commission ruled in his favour on 3 October 2022, directing SBI to either return the original title deed within six months, or in the alternative, pay ₹65 lakh — representing the estimated value of the mortgaged property — along with ₹10 lakh as compensation. The state commission also directed that if the original deed could not be returned, a duplicate certified copy be obtained from the registrar's office at the Bank's expense.
SBI challenged the order before NCDRC and, after procedural delays stretching over a year, notices were issued in January 2024. The matter was heard on several dates, with an interim order staying coercive action by the state commission, passed on 6 January 2025.
On 13 January 2026, NCDRC took stock of the proceedings and passed a significant interim order — directing SBI to deposit ₹10 lakh as compensation before the state commission within four weeks and warning that if evidence of the certified copy being furnished was not produced by the next date, the Bank would also be required to deposit the ₹65 lakh directed by the state commission.
SBI responded by filing a review application seeking a waiver of the ₹10 lakh deposit. That application was rejected on 18 March 2026. The Bank was given until late April to deposit the amount.
Then came the twist that defined this entire case.
Just before the deadline expired — on 28 April 2026 — SBI filed an interlocutory application (IA) before NCDRC, seeking waiver of the ₹10 lakh deposit, stating that the original title deed had now been traced and recovered. An assistant manager of the Lucknow branch, one Tushar Shukla, appeared before the commission with the original registry document.
NCDRC was not impressed by the Bank's dramatic last-minute production of the title deed. Justice Sahi's order minces no words in dissecting the Bank's conduct.
"The title deed, therefore, was neither traced nor any effort was made or any enquiry conducted for 10 years throughout this litigative pursuit, which the respondent complainant (Mr Kumar) had to suffer when ultimately the title deed was produced in 2026 before this Commission," the order states.
The commission pointed out the most damning aspect of the timeline: the original deed surfaced only after the NCDRC issued compulsive orders directing the deposit of ₹10 lakh. The Bank had initially sought a review of that direction, which was rejected. Only then did it emerge with the deed — with no explanation whatsoever of how it was found, or where it had been all these years.
Crucially, the commission noted: "It is not the case of the bank that the deed was procured from somebody else's custody or had been stolen or recovered." In other words, no one came forward with it from outside. It simply appeared — from within the Bank's own system.
SBI's counsel, Rajiv Kapur, put forward several arguments in the Bank's defence, all of which NCDRC rejected. Mr Kapur contended that Mr Kumar suffered no loss. He argued that since Mr Kumar had continued living in the property throughout the decade, the property's value had not eroded and, therefore, no compensation was warranted.
NCDRC rejected this contention. Justice Sahi observed that for 10 years, the uncertainty over the title deed meant the complainant could not have sold, negotiated, or otherwise utilised his property — or could only have done so at a significantly reduced value. "Merely because the complainant continued to reside in his property does not absolve the bank from its liability to secure the original title deed," the order states.
The mental anguish of living for a decade without the foundational legal document of one's home was, in itself, a compensable harm.
NCDRC also took note of a circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 13 September 2023 (RBI/2023-24/60) which mandates that all regulated entities release original property documents within 30 days of full loan repayment. In cases of delay attributable to the bank, compensation must be paid at the rate of ₹5,000 per day of delay. In cases of loss or damage to original documents, banks must assist the borrower in obtaining duplicates and bear all associated costs.
While the RBI circular technically applies only to delays falling due on or after 1 December 2023, the commission noted that it provides clear normative guidance — and that a decade's delay would, under those norms, translate to a staggering sum far exceeding ₹10 lakh. The ₹10 lakh compensation was upheld as reasonable in the overall facts and circumstances of the case, with the commission noting that even older decisions in similar matters had confirmed awards of ₹5 lakh dating back to the mid-2000s.
Wow! At last Consumer Redressal Forums are now realising the gravity of the situation. They have also now recognized the callous, complascent, step-motherly attitude of the so-called Nation's Bank. What a shame. These guys should be paraded in public in their under-clothing like how it is now happening in Yogiland. There should be NO MERCY on these arrogant behaviour of bank officers who take things for granted. I shudder to even imagine the nightmare the borrower would have faced for over 10 years living in his own house SANS the Title Deed. Shameful. The CGM of the Lucknow Circle should have been DISMISSED. God save the borrowers.
SBI is as usual number One in all specially relating to FRAUD BY ITS OWN OFFICERS. MY SCSS ACCOUNTS, I AS A CUSTOMER HAVE "OFFERED REWARD OF Rs. 10K for Each account to give me Copies of the documents as per the SCSS RULES, 2004 - FORM A, B, C, D ETC OPENING TILL CLOSURE, Whatever forms are required. I have OFFERED THE 10KREWARD TO ALL- SBI CHAIRMAN, RBI GOVERNOR, FMO, BRANCH ETC. THE DOCUMENTS ARE "LOST" OR SOME OFFICIAL HAS TAKEN AWAY, Now THEY HAVE STOPPED PAYING INTEREST AND BLACKMAILING ME TO GIVE FRESH DOCUMENTS FOR EXTENSION, WHEN THEY ARE ALREADY EXTENDED UPTO 2028. I INCLUDE ALL FINANCE DEPARTMENTS OF FMO
The Union government has amended the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2026, allowing domestic LPG consumers who switch to piped natural gas (PNG) to either terminate their LPG connection or retain...
Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) on Tuesday increased the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital by ₹2/kg, marking the fourth hike in less than two weeks, amid rising input costs and volatility in global energy...
Petrol and diesel prices are raised again across the country on Monday, marking the fourth hike in less than two weeks, as State-run oil marketing companies continued passing on the impact of rising international crude oil prices to...
State-run oil marketing companies on Saturday raised petrol and diesel prices by up to 91 paise per litre, marking the third increase in fuel rates this month and taking cumulative hikes to nearly ₹5 per litre in less than 10...
Fiercely independent and pro-consumer information on personal finance.
1-year online access to the magazine articles published during the subscription period.
Access is given for all articles published during the week (starting Monday) your subscription starts. For example, if you subscribe on Wednesday, you will have access to articles uploaded from Monday of that week.
This means access to other articles (outside the subscription period) are not included.
Articles outside the subscription period can be bought separately for a small price per article.
Fiercely independent and pro-consumer information on personal finance.
30-day online access to the magazine articles published during the subscription period.
Access is given for all articles published during the week (starting Monday) your subscription starts. For example, if you subscribe on Wednesday, you will have access to articles uploaded from Monday of that week.
This means access to other articles (outside the subscription period) are not included.
Articles outside the subscription period can be bought separately for a small price per article.
Fiercely independent and pro-consumer information on personal finance.
Complete access to Moneylife archives since inception ( till the date of your subscription )
