State Bank Of India vs Union Bank Of India And Others on 4 February, 2025
32. At the first blush, it would appear that it was for the plaintiff-
Bank to have scrutinized the draft before clearing it. However, if one goes
through Section 131 of the N.I.Act and the judgments of the Supreme Court
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in the cases of Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation versus
State Bank of India and Ors. and Indian Overseas Bank versus Industrial
Chain Concern (supra), it would emerge that the defendant-Bank had been
negligent in handling the issue. The account in the name of Gurmeet Kaur
was opened on 30.01.1980. The demand draft was of 07.02.1980. It was
presented to the defendant-Bank on 09.02.1980 and was then sent to the
plaintiff-Bank for clearance and was cleared by the plaintiff bank on
09.02.1980 itself. Thereafter, by 12.02.1980, a sum of `69,000/- was
withdrawn by Gurmeet Kaur. When the draft was found to be forged, it did
not initiate any action either against Gurmeet Kaur or the introducer Surjit
Singh Manku. The introducer was not produced in evidence also. No
criminal action was initiated. I have, therefore, no hesitation in holding that
due care was not taken by the Bank in opening the account.