Defamation case against bank

yogesh kumar (Querist) 01 March 2024 This query is : Resolved
I Had borrowed a housing loan from a bank. In the sanction letter loan amount and Roi was mentioned but there is no mention of EMI due date.

I signed the loan agreement, where the bank loan agreement copy was a prefilled agreement and details of loan amount and parties involved was handwritten by bank official and few details like EMI due date and rate of interest was not written .

I was asked by banker that by when can I pay my monthly emi and I replied by 5th I can pay emi because I receive salary on 2nd of every month.

I gave the standing instruction to the bank to deduct emi on 5th of each month.

For last 3 years, I maintained sufficient balance on or before 5th and the emi was duly deducted from my saving bank account on 5th of the every month.

When I borrowed the ROI was 7% and gradually the ROI kept increasing and today I am paying 9.5%.

Then I checked rbi repo rate and it's eligibility conditions and understood that if my CIBIL score is good then I can request the banker to reduce the ROI to 8.45% or if the banker does not agree to this ROI reduction then I thought I will do balance transfer to a different bank.

When I checked my CIBIL report and it was a surprise to see that all my emi payments towards my housing loan account was reported by delayed payment from the inception of the 1st emi.

Then I immediately rushed to meet the bank manager to understand what went wrong. Then the bank manager says me that the emi due date for my housing loan account is 31 or the last date of the month and where as you have given us standing instruction to deduct emi on 5th so every time there is a delay of 5 to 6 days in payment of EMI.

I was in shock to hear this from the bank manager and said that I never gave my consent to bank to set the emi date as 31st instead I communicated to banker that I can only pay the emi on 5th of every month.

Then the bank manger shows me the loan agreement and shows the emi due date as 31ST OF THE MONTH. And says I have given my consent to emi due date as 31st of the month.

But interestingly the handwriting is different from other contents written on the loan agreement. After I signed the loan agreement, the emi date is mentioned as 31. The loan agreement was altered after my signature. Infact till today the rate of interest column is blank. I believe the emi due date also must be mentioned on the day of my visit to bank only .

So I expect to file defamation case against bank for rupees 1 crore.

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T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 01 March 2024
This is not a case of defamation, the bank has not defamed you in any manner, but it is a case of manipulation or an act of deceiving you.
However in the absence of documentary evidence to prove the allegations you cannot maintain any criminal case agaisnt the bank.
Besides, if you take it up as a consumer services deficiency case through a consumer redressal commission, then also the documents held by the bank will speak in support of bank only.
You may settle the matter with the bank amicable and request them to remove the adverse entry reflecting in the CIBIL report instead of losing money, energy and time over a vexatious case.

yogesh kumar (Querist) 01 March 2024
so the bank can forge the loan agreement by mentioning the date as 31st after my signature and can still defend itself based on the forged documents ?

yogesh kumar (Querist) 01 March 2024
Bank manager is very clear that I have knowingly given my consent to EMI due date as 31st and Standing Instruction date as 05th. Therefore I am liable for penal interest and they will not take action to rectify my CIBIL records.

I am not a mentally challenged person to give consent to above knowingly I will be liable to interest for delayed payment for a period of 25 years housing loan.

I am not a mentally challenged person to give consent to above knowingly my CIBIL score will have a impact and banker can use this reason to charge me higher ROI.

Banker never acted in interest of the customer.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 01 March 2024
If you have evidence for the bank manager to have cheated you with fabricated documents then you can initiate criminal proceedings agaisnt him and not a defamation case.

yogesh kumar (Querist) 01 March 2024
So this is nationalized bank and the bank managers keep changing. 3 years before when I took the loan there was a different manager and presently there is a different manager.

Instead of filing case on bank manager , can I file the case against the Bank ?

I am still not able to understand why defamation case cannot be filed. The bank have falsely reported delayed payments to CIBIL and brought a permanent reputational damage to me. Because of this damage, I am paying higher ROI to bank than existing RBI repo rate. and because of this damage, my CIBIL points dropped from 850 points to 700 points. Because the CIBIL is 700 points, no other nationalized bank or private bank is ready to transfer the existing housing loan amount.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 01 March 2024
You can file the complaint agaisnt the bank manager, let the bank take the defensive steps.
You pretend as if yo have not understood the explanations/opinions given here hence yo are repeating the same question, how do you think that you have been defamed when they have done only fraud against you.

yogesh kumar (Querist) 01 March 2024
My submission is Tortious liability arises from the breach of duty primarily fixed by law; this duty is towards persons generally and its breach is redressible by an action for unliquidated damages.

A wrongful act or omission is said to have been committed by the banker who has not performed his duty like a reasonable and prudent person or has broken it intentionally. As resulted into legal damage to me and gives me the legal remedy in the form of an action for damages

And as per Vicarious Liability, here Bank and Bank manager have a Master Servant Relationship. So During the course of employment under a master, if the servant commits any fraud then the master would be liable.

Please correct me if my understanding is wrong here.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 01 March 2024
You are at your liberty to file any case by invoking the provisions of law as per your own interpretation of the law.
You can explain your grievances as your pleadings in the proposed law suit.
You may even appear as party in person.
If it is proper and maintainable then the court will take the case on its files for further proceedings.

Sudhir Kumar, Advocate (Expert) 02 March 2024
You query is not so simply worded so as could be understood in one reading.

Has (i)bank (ii)conveyed any (iii)false allegation against (iv) you to (v)anyone?

These are 5 parameters of defamation case.

yogesh kumar (Querist) 02 March 2024
Yes sir, bank has conveyed false allegation against me to CIBIL.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 02 March 2024
If you have evidence to prove that the bank has furnished false information to CIBIl then you write to CIBIL with the documentary evidence to prove that the bank has lied with false information and request them to correct their records at least after inquiry.
How can you term this to be a defamatory act by the bank agaisnt you, is the bank working against your interests to spoil your name and reputation, if you do not understand law then you can consult a local lawyer and proceed as per law.

yogesh kumar (Querist) 02 March 2024
So your saying I will have to take criminal action against bank manager for fabricating evidence as if I gave my consent to setting up EMI date as 31st. So the court will decide on the facts and finally punish the bank manager for criminal offence.

Using the court order, I should approach CIBIL to rectify the delayed payment for the during till court order is made available.

And I will get no compensation for the legal damage I have suffered untill the court order made available.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 02 March 2024
You were advised about adopting proper procedures of law in furtherance hence you can proceed as per your understanding

yogesh kumar (Querist) 02 March 2024
Sir, With all due respect, thank you very much for taking your time and letting me know your expert opinion.

I shall continue to explore why tort law cannot be applied or how tort law can be applied against the fraud committed by a public servant i.e bank manager.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Expert) 02 March 2024
Nobody can prevent you from doing anything of your choice.
You will be the only person to take any decision on any subject and you will reap the benefits or consequences for all your acts accordingly

Sudhir Kumar, Advocate (Expert) 03 March 2024
If someone conveyed false accusation against other one, to a third person and the second person loses reputation then the person making accusation is liable for civil as well as criminal action.