{"id":1308834,"date":"2026-04-26T09:28:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T03:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1308834"},"modified":"2026-04-26T09:28:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T03:58:33","slug":"rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/","title":{"rendered":"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer&#8217;s Locker Closed, Content Missing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In a landmark consumer rights ruling, a Chandigarh consumer court has ordered <strong>Punjab National Bank (PNB)<\/strong> to pay <strong>\u20b91 crore<\/strong> to a woman after her bank locker was allegedly <strong>illegally closed and its contents went missing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"572\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM-1024x572.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1308844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM-1536x858.png 1536w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png 1630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Exactly Happened?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The case was filed by Bela Prasad, a resident of Chandigarh, who had been <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/chandigarh\/pnb-locker-case-rs-1-crore-chandigarh-order-10654388\/\">maintaining<\/a> a bank account and locker with PNB since 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She claimed that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>She stored <strong>gold and diamond jewellery worth ~\u20b91.5 crore<\/strong> in her locker<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When she visited the bank in 2020, she was <strong>denied access<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bank officials informed her that the locker had already been <strong>closed and reassigned to another customer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Shockingly, she asserted that she had <strong>never requested or authorised the closure<\/strong> and still possessed the locker key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bank\u2019s Defense vs Reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>PNB argued that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The locker had been <strong>surrendered years earlier (2013)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was later <strong>broken open in 2019<\/strong> due to inactivity and non-payment of rent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the bank failed to provide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Proof of <strong>prior notice to the customer<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proper <strong>documentation of locker contents<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evidence of <strong>inventory handling in the customer\u2019s presence<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consumer Court\u2019s Strong Observation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh<\/strong> ruled that the bank was guilty of <strong>deficiency in service and negligence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key observations included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Banks have a <strong>higher duty of care<\/strong> in locker operations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Internal records alone are <strong>not enough proof of compliance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lack of documentation creates an <strong>\u201cadverse inference\u201d against the bank<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The court concluded that <strong>mandatory safeguards were not followed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u20b91 Crore Compensation Ordered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The commission directed PNB to pay:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u20b91 crore<\/strong> for loss of locker contents<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>\u20b91 lakh<\/strong> for mental agony and litigation costs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is being seen as one of the <strong>largest compensations awarded in a bank locker dispute in India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why This Case Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This ruling sets a powerful precedent for banking customers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Banks are fully accountable<\/strong> for locker safety<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proper procedures like <strong>notice, inventory, and documentation are mandatory<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consumers can seek strong legal remedies for negligence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It also highlights growing scrutiny on locker management practices in Indian banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Big Takeaway for Customers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though banks often claim lockers are \u201cat customer risk,\u201d this case reinforces:<br>\ud83d\udc49 <strong>Negligence by banks can lead to massive liability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maintaining records, locker agreements, and periodic checks is still crucial\u2014but banks cannot escape responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.punekarnews.in\/customers-have-to-create-new-bank-locker-agreement-before-new-year\/\">Image Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a landmark consumer rights ruling, a Chandigarh consumer court has ordered Punjab National Bank (PNB) to pay \u20b91 crore to a woman after her bank locker was allegedly illegally closed and its contents went missing. What Exactly Happened? The case was filed by Bela Prasad, a resident of Chandigarh, who had been maintaining a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1308844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[9783,461],"class_list":["post-1308834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-locker","tag-pnb"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer&#039;s Locker Closed, Content Missing - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer&#039;s Locker Closed, Content Missing - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a landmark consumer rights ruling, a Chandigarh consumer court has ordered Punjab National Bank (PNB) to pay \u20b91 crore to a woman after her bank locker was allegedly illegally closed and its contents went missing. What Exactly Happened? The case was filed by Bela Prasad, a resident of Chandigarh, who had been maintaining a [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-26T03:58:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-26T03:58:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"910\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/\",\"name\":\"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer's Locker Closed, Content Missing - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-26T03:58:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-26T03:58:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png\",\"width\":1630,\"height\":910},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer&#8217;s Locker Closed, Content Missing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\",\"description\":\"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile &amp; Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups &amp; Social Media Space\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\",\"name\":\"Mohul Ghosh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mohul Ghosh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer's Locker Closed, Content Missing - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer's Locker Closed, Content Missing - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","og_description":"In a landmark consumer rights ruling, a Chandigarh consumer court has ordered Punjab National Bank (PNB) to pay \u20b91 crore to a woman after her bank locker was allegedly illegally closed and its contents went missing. What Exactly Happened? The case was filed by Bela Prasad, a resident of Chandigarh, who had been maintaining a [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/","og_site_name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","article_published_time":"2026-04-26T03:58:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-26T03:58:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1630,"height":910,"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Mohul Ghosh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mohul Ghosh","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/","name":"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer's Locker Closed, Content Missing - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png","datePublished":"2026-04-26T03:58:20+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-26T03:58:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png","width":1630,"height":910},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/rs-1-cr-penalty-on-pnb-for-customers-locker-closed-content-missing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rs 1 Cr Penalty On PNB For Customer&#8217;s Locker Closed, Content Missing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/","name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","description":"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile &amp; Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups &amp; Social Media Space","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7","name":"Mohul Ghosh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mohul Ghosh"},"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-26-at-9.27.29-AM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1308834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1308845,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308834\/revisions\/1308845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1308844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1308834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1308834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1308834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}