Reimburse cybercrime victim, Gauhati High Court orders SBI

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: At a time when cybercrime is making its presence felt in the city, as evident in the recent case of police in Guwahati busting eight fake call centres that were scamming people online across the country and abroad, a recent judgement by the Gauhati High Court offers a ray of hope to people who have been victims of such scams.

In the judgement, the Gauhati High Court has ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to reimburse an amount of Rs. 4,44,699 to a cybercrime victim who was swindled of the amount from his account through illegal online transactions.

The victim, a customer of SBI, Panjabari branch, was swindled for a sum of Rs. 4,44,699 out of his account through illegal online transactions from June 8, 2012, to June 17, 2012, although no SMS alert was received by him during the period when the crime was committed. Thirty-five transactions took place in the short period from June 8 to June 17, 2012, which the victim had not done.

On June 17, 2012, the victim lodged a complaint in the State Bank of India, Panjabari Branch, where he has the account, following it up by lodging an FIR before the CID, Assam, which was registered as CID PS Case No. 53/2012 under Section 420 IPC, along with Sections 66 and 66(d) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. He also filed a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman, but his complaint was rejected.

The victim then filed a writ petition in the Gauhati High Court, in which he prayed for an inquiry into the matter as to why SMS alerts for online transactions to the extent of Rs. 4,44,699 did not reach his registered mobile phone and for directing the refund of the amount, along with applicable interests.

During the hearing of the case, the CID stated that unknown criminals had committed the offence online through computer devices and that the investigation revealed that the crime had originated from the Thane district of Maharashtra. It was also submitted that the State CID had been able to locate 12 IP addresses in the Thane District, out of which two IP addresses turned out to be fake. Therefore, the court ruled that the preponderance of probability is that the petitioner is a victim of cybercrime.

The court also ruled that the petitioner did not have any liability in respect of the transaction of Rs. 4,44,699, which was reflected in the statement of bank account of the petitioner. So, the SBI was ordered to reimburse the said amount in the savings bank account of the petitioner within a period of 60 days from the date of service of a certified copy of this order to the State Bank of India, Panjabari Branch.

The court also said that in the event the money is not deposited in the bank account of the petitioner within the time allowed, the said amount shall carry interest at the rate of 6% p.a. from the date of the order until realization.

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