Saraswat Bank — Illegal freezing of debit transaction of co-operative housing society

Address:	400067
Website:	www.saraswatbank.com

This is to bring to your kind notice flagrant violation of all simple banking norms and conspiracy of Branch Manager S P Kale of Saraswat co op bank ltd Charkop branch as well their corporate office who are trying to shield their offending employees. We are the office Bearers of the Charkop Pallavi Co-operative housing Charkop, initiated legal action against the members who had illegally encroached Society Terraces and a Fake Chartered Accountant who is carrying out commercial activities in his residential premises of the Society. Those offending members illegally formed parallel committee and one of them filed the complaint against us with Mr.Nitin Kale Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Housing Societies MHADA. After 3 months of hearing Deputy Registrar Mr.Nitin Kale sent a notice to conduct the election for the Managing Committee and instructed the Hon.Secretary to transact the society account only for the payment of electricity Bill Water Charges and taxes. The Notice was addressed to Mr.Mahesh Deshpande Complainant Smt.Priya Muzumdar, Hon.Secretary of the Society and Sanjay Valunj, election officer. The Notices were delivered to Society Office. Our Society has only one operative Saving Account No 5964 at Charkop Branch of Saraswat Co-operative Bank. On August 3rd 2015, Mr.S.P Kale, Manager of Charkop Branch of Saraswat Cooperative Bank, freezed the debit transaction of our Society Bank account of his own without any instruction from the any authority with a malicious intention to harass the authorised signatories. He even does not shown the courtesy to inform the office bearers of the Society even though Society has a Fixed deposit of about 10 Lac and Society has the Account since the year 1996. The Branch refused to honour the cheques issued by us for the payment for the Security Accountant informing them as debit transaction of the account is freezed. Mr.Kale claimed that he received the copy of the Notice send by the Deputy Registrar Kale. Mr.Kale on 30.7.2015. The copy of the Notice shown by him to us was a counterfeit of the Notice of the Deputy Registrar MHADA including the names of two Banks Saraswat Cooperative Bank Charkop Branch and Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank. Even ECS payment of Reliance for the payment of electricity was refused by the bank from August 2015 to till date. It may be noted that the Deputy Registrar allowed to pay the electricity bills. Mr.Kale failed to comply the instruction of the Notice. Subsequently Mr.Kale admitted that the Notice was addressed to Mr.Mahesh Deshpande, Smt.Priya Muzumdar and Mr.Sanjay Valunj, election officer and there was no mention of the name of any bank. But continued the freeze claiming that there is dispute in the Society. In fact there was no dispute among the office bearers who are authorised signatories of the Account. As per Ms.Nikam of the Office the Deputy Registra rMHADA, their office has neither instructed any bank to freeze the transactions nor send copy of the letter to any Bank. Mr.S.P Kale, Manager of the Bank, also confirmed from the Deputy Registrar that the copy of the Notice were only sent by the office of the Deputy Registrar to the Office of Chakop Pallavi Cooperative Housing Society to not sent to any bank. Still continued to the freeze with malicious intention to harass the authorised signatories. For last 5 months the illegal debit freeze of the account of the continued by Mr.Kale giving one or other excuses. As we are not able to pay the salary of the Security of Society and Accountant they stopped working for the Society and security of the Residents of the Society is at stack. The incidents was reported to the Senior management which is still either sleeping over the complaint or trying to shield offending Employee. The matter was reported by us to banking Ombudsman. He as usual closed the complaint under non-appealable clause for the reason complaint is not complying the clause no 8. Now we are approaching the Consumer forums for the help to normalise the illegally frozen Saving account by Mr.Kale with malicious intentions.