NEW DELHI: A Hyderabad consumer commission has directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to pay a retired scientist his Rs 15 lakh senior citizen deposit along with interest after finding deficiency in service over its failure to inform him about the deposit’s maturity and extension options. The commission also ordered the bank to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.The commission found that although the customer had not applied to extend the deposit within the prescribed period, SBI had retained the money after maturity without establishing the basis for showing zero interest on its portal.Case detailsAccording to the commission order, Ashwani Kumar Sangamker, a retired scientist, invested Rs 15 lakh from his retirement benefits in the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme through SBI’s Barkatpura branch on December 13, 2018. The deposit carried an interest rate of 8.5 percent and matured on December 12, 2023.The customer alleged that he was under the impression that the deposit had been renewed automatically because SBI’s online portal showed a new maturity date of December 12, 2028, but an interest rate of zero per cent.He approached the bank in March 2025, seeking an explanation and payment of the interest. According to his complaint, the bank told him that the scheme could not be extended because he had not applied within a year of maturity.Sangamker alleged that the bank had neither informed him about the maturity nor returned the money to his savings account.SBI argued that the scheme rules did not provide for automatic renewal. It said an account holder had to apply for an extension within one year of maturity and that the customer had approached the bank after the deadline. The bank also claimed that the portal’s zero-interest display was a technical glitch and said the amount was eligible for post-maturity interest at the applicable savings-account rate.What did the consumer commission find?The bench comprising President M Ramgopal Reddy and members D Sreedevi and J Shyamala found that SBI had failed to inform the customer about the deposit’s maturity and the option to extend it.The commission noted that the customer had signed documents acknowledging the scheme rules, including the requirement to apply for an extension within one year. It also referred to the bank’s own records, which showed that the deposit had matured and that the customer had not submitted the required extension application in time.However, the commission found that the bank could not simply retain the customer’s money at zero interest without establishing a valid basis for doing so.“The RBI’s directions governing domestic term deposits provide that where a term deposit matures and the proceeds remain unpaid, the amount left unclaimed with the bank attracts interest at the rate applicable to savings deposits or the contracted rate on the matures term deposit, whichever is lower,” the commission observed.It further noted that SBI had retained the money for years at zero interest without establishing the contractual or statutory basis for that treatment.“Basing on the above discussion, facts and circumstances of the case we are under considered opinion that there is deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party for not intimating the complainant regarding the maturity of the fix deposit and also for not informing the extension of the FD for another term of 3 years periods,” the commission said.The commission partly allowed the complaint, directing SBI to pay the deposit amount with interest according to the original terms until maturity and the applicable savings-deposit rate thereafter.What did the commission order?In its October 7, 2026 order, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-III, Hyderabad, directed SBI to:
- Pay the Rs 15 lakh deposit with interest at 8.5 percent up to the contractual maturity date and the applicable savings-deposit rate after maturity until realisation.
- Pay Rs 25,000 as compensation for inconvenience and mental agony.
- Pay Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.
- The bank was directed to comply within 45 days of receiving the order.
