Pune: The Pune District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed DSK & Associates to repay ₹2 lakh to the complainants with an annual interest of 5% from March 5, 2020.

The order comes after the firm failed to return a fixed deposit amount on time, causing financial distress to the complainants. In addition to the principal amount, the commission has also awarded ₹10,000 for mental anguish and ₹7,000 towards legal expenses.

The forum has stipulated that the order must be fulfilled within 45 days of receiving the judgment, failing which an additional 7% annual interest will be levied. This ruling was delivered by Consumer Forum President Anil Jawalekar and member Sarita Patil.

The case was initiated through Advocate Dnyanraj Sant by Mridula Shrikant Sathe and Shrikant Raghunath Sathe of Kothrud, who had invested ₹1 lakh in a fixed deposit with DSK & Associates in April 2015 for a term of 59 months, at an agreed interest rate of 14.19% compounded quarterly.

The deposit matured on March 3, 2020, and the company issued a cheque of ₹1 lakh to the complainants on March 4, 2020, which subsequently bounced.

Despite repeated follow-ups and a letter to the company on June 6, 2020, requesting the return of the invested amount, the company failed to return the principal and interest, prompting the complainants to approach the Consumer Forum.

They sought the return of the invested amount with interest, ₹1 lakh for mental distress, and ₹50,000 towards the cost of the complaint.

The company, in its written statement, claimed that the DSK couple had been in judicial custody since February 17, 2020, and that the company’s documents had been under police custody since 2018.

Without reviewing the bank statements and accounts, the company argued, it would be impossible to determine the validity of the complaint. The consumer forum, after hearing both sides, passed the judgment.