ICICI fined for denying credit card to lawyer

The Delhi Consumer Commission on Friday fined ICICI Bank Rs 10 lakh for denying a credit card to an advocate on grounds that the profession is of a “negative profile”. Taking the bank to task for indulging in “cavalier conduct and unpardonable negligence”, Justice J D Kapoor said the “conduct of the bank has not only defamed but also demeaned the profession as a whole”. Kapoor awarded the complainant, Saket-based advocate Nivedita Sharma, a compensation of Rs 50,000. The bank, though, refuted the charge that it was not giving credit cards to advocates and said it would appeal against order before an appropriate forum. In her complaint, Sharma said the bank offered her a free-of-cost credit card facility after she declined their offer for a loan. “After much insistence, I applied for the card,” she told the consumer panel. “I was surprised to get back the application after a few days with the endorsement that designation of advocate has a negative profile.” Sharma then wrote to the ICICI Bank chairman and managing directors, and also sent copies to the Prime Minister, seeking reason for grounds on which the application was declined. The bank, she said, reasoned that each loan application is processed with pre-defined criteria. To this, the Commission observed that no service provider of financial facilities can deny a facility to any person by branding his/her profession “negative”.

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