ICICI Bank sends Legal Notice

Ref.No:- 1208/ /2009 Date:-3rd November,2009
Regd. Post A.D.
Add: [hidden]

Sir,

Re:- Unwarranted letters / emails sent by you
to ICICI Bank Ltd.


We are concerned for our clients, ICICI Bank Limited, a company incorporated under the provisions of The Companies Act, 1956 and licensed as a bank under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and having its branch office interalia, at New Delhi Sadar Bazar, Branch 1215, Bahadur Garh Road, New Delhi. P.O. Sadar Bazar-110006 and since 05-01-2009 at 2919/20, rui mandi bahadurgarh road, sadar bazar, delhi – 110006 and a Corporate office at ICICI Bank Towers, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai 400 051, who have handed over to us the copies of your various letters, emails etc, along with all other relevant correspondence exchanged by and between yourself and our clients, with specific instructions to address to you as follows:-

1. We have been instructed by our clients to state that by your E-mail dated 27th January 2007, addressed to the Banking Ombudsman, you made several alleged contentions and also resorted to various false & baseless allegations against our clients pertaining to alleged deficiency in service with regard to your Current Account No.629505034537 which was held by you with the Sadar Bazar Branch of our Clients. Our clients state that inspite of our clients providing you good services & also extending co-operation from time to time, you have been purposely & deliberately indulging in disrupting the name, reputation & goodwill of our clients by sending false, threatening, harassing and defamatory emails.
2. Our clients further state that they have made sincere efforts to make you understand verbally as well as by writing, in order to sort out the alleged issues raised by you. Despite our clients extending their all co-operation in this connection, you for the reasons best known to you, failed to pay any heed to such requests and continued to send harassing letters and emails on numerous occasions making all types of false, fictitious, imaginary, baseless and offending allegations against our clients.
3. Our Clients further state that without communicating to our clients about your alleged grievances pertaining to service etc., you directly lodged a false & baseless complaint against our Clients being Complaint No.200809008590 with the Banking Ombudsman. However, your said Complaint was rejected by the Banking Ombudsman. Thereafter, you addressed a letter dated 1st October 2008, to our clients, which our Clients replied by their letter dated 3rd October 2008 and thereby our clients dealt with all the false & baseless issues raised by you in your aforesaid letter, dated 1st October 2008 as under :-
(A) Alleged issue raised by you in respect of Details of cheques returned:-

(a) Cheque No.255213 dated 5/1/2007 for Rs.1548/- was returned as there was no sufficient balance to honour the cheque. The balance available was Rs.153.20.

(b) A very small balance was maintained till 27th January,2007 Before issuing the cheques, it is necessary to check the account balance and more so if the Account was frozen.

(c) There was no balance till 27th February,2007. Before issuing the cheques, it is necessary to check the account balance and more so if the account was frozen.

(B) Alleged issue of Delayed Credit

(a) Cash of Rs.5000/- deposited in Rajouri Garden on 30th July 2007 and credited to your account at 1.26 pm on same day. Hence no delay.

(b) Cheque got processed on 6/4/2007 in our CP branch as per branch it was processed on line same day itself.

(c) The cheque no 569506 dt.19/2/2007 was collected and issued PO no 203878 dated 24/02/2007 as a/c was frozen and got credited on 27/2/2007 after removal of freeze.

(d) Cheque Nos. 456846 dated 22/2/2007 and 482379 dated 24/2/2007 each for Rs.10,000/- collected and credited to our office accounts as your account was freezed and after receiving the request same credited on 28/2/2008.

4. It was specifically recorded by our clients in the said letter, dated 3rd October 2008 that the account was opened under standard category for average balance requirement of Rs.10,000/- but was not maintained properly and that most of the times, the cheques were issued by you, without checking the actual balance in account and the account was maintained in an unsatisfactory manner, resulting in bouncing of cheques on various dates.
5. Our Clients further state that as per your requests and due to your continuous false allegations etc, your said Current Account was ultimately closed down, with effect from 30th July, 2009.
6. Our Clients state that even after the closure of the account as aforesaid and also upon due clarification on the entire factual position as above, you are still sending the defamatory letters/emails by using slang, dirty, foul & filthy language. Our Clients state that by your emails dated 14th September, 2009, 18th September, 2009,23rd September, 2009 15th October 2009 and 23rd October 2009, you have made various false, defamatory, harassing and threatening statements in Hindi & English languages against our Clients & have even sent such false, defamatory and harassing emails to Mrs. Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank Limited & other Authorities of the Bank. It is thus, clear that even after the closure of your account with our clients, you are indulging in such arm twisting tactics, only out of dishonest motive and malafide intention. It is observed that such false, defamatory, harassing and threatening emails are being sent by you from your E-mail I.D. “Solidus.in@gmail.com” which are addressed to Mrs. Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank Limited & other authorities of the Bank despite being aware of the fact that Mrs. Chanda Kochhar does not have any role in day to day affairs of the innumerable branches of the Bank and its Group Companies throughout India and/or abroad.
7. Our Clients further state that in the aforesaid two emails, you have used foul and dirty language to defame our Clients by making false & baseless allegations against our clients with a deliberate, malafide and dishonest intention to harm the reputation & goodwill of our clients. The false, offending and defamatory contents of the aforesaid email dated 14th September 2009 in Hindi Language run as follows :- “MERI MANO KOI AUR NAUKARI DHOOND LO, YEH BANK TO AB JANEWALA HAI.. ..ICICI BANK KA SAMUL VINASH KAR DAALUNGA, YA PHIR EK KAAM KARO ….MERI SUPARI DE DO, MERI NAZROO ME YEH SYSTEM EK CHARBI WALA KARTOOS HAIN AUR MAIN ISSE MUNH LAGAANE SE INKAAR KARTAA HOON.” “IDHAR JUNGAL KA KANOON CHALTA HAI…. HAR TAKATWAR APNE SE KAM KO MARKAR JEETA HAI… JAI HIND”
8. Our Clients further state that in the aforesaid email dated 18th September 2009, you have used a very instigating defamatory and foul language to defame our Clients by making false & baseless allegations against our clients with a deliberate, malafide and dishonest intention to harm the reputation & goodwill of our clients. It is interalia, stated in the said email dated 18th September 2009 that :- “IF YOU ARE INTO BUSINESS, DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS, THROUGH CHEQUES OF THE PRIVATE BANKS, SPECICIALLY ICICI BANK. ... IF YOU ARE EMPLOYED WITH A PRIVATE BANK, START LOOKING FOR A JOB OR ELSE YOU MAY SOON BECOME JOBLESS ... I HAVE TAKEN AN OATH TO RUIN ICICI BANK.”
9. Our clients state that all the above statements in your above emails & the false and wrongful allegations made therein as also the threats given thereunder to our clients, are clearly offensive and defamatory in nature, which have had the effect of defaming our clients and serious harm, loss and damage is caused to the image, reputation and goodwill of our clients thereby. In any case, Our clients did not immediately react to such indecent attitude on your part, only out of decency and only with a view to maintain its well known customer and public friendly behaviour. Unfortunately, it seems that you continue to indulge in such practices, which makes it clear that you mistook such lenient attitude on the part of our clients to be their weakness.
10. Our Clients further state that your action as stated hereinabove are not only wrongful, illegal, false and defamatory but at the same time, immoral as well which goes to show that such baseless allegations are resorted by you, with a view to extract monies from our clients.
11. Our clients further state that you have, thus, published wrongful and false words causing imputation concerning our clients, intending to harm, or knowing or having reasons to believe that such imputations will harm, the reputation of our clients and accordingly, you have rendered yourself liable to our clients, for all such defamatory statements.
12. Our clients, therefore, state that our clients have suffered irreparable harm, loss and injury and also loss of prestige and reputation due to such false and defamatory statements published by you as aforesaid, which cannot be compensated in terms of money. The defamatory publication as aforesaid not only ruins the name, reputation and goodwill of our clients but also causes harm and badly affects the business of our clients. Our clients further state that you have sent the aforesaid emails with dishonest and malafide intention, with a view to defame our clients and to cause harm to the reputation of our clients. Our clients state that such false publication is not only in bad taste but also constitutes a grave and serious attempt on your part to tarnish the image and reputation of our clients and defamatory statements are made by you only with a view to expose our clients to ridicule, contempt and hatred amongst the society in general and banking industry in particular. Our clients state that in any event, in these circumstances, such false publication is entirely in bad taste and the same also constitutes a serious attempt on your part to expose our clients to hate and to create distrust and loss of confidence amongst the public in general and the customers of our clients in particular.
13. By your culpable actions and omissions, you have acted in a manner calculated to undermine the confidence of the Customers / Depositors / Investors of the Bank and thereby you have committed a serious criminal offence punishable under Section 36 AD (2)of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
14. Our clients have therefore instructed us to call upon you, which We hereby do, to:-
(a) forthwith cease and desist from making and / or publishing any false and defamatory statements by means of letters, emails, or otherwise howsoever, against our clients or their senior Managerial personnel, staff or employees
(b) forthwith address a suitable letter to our clients, tendering an unconditional apology for such false and defamatory statements, made by you against our clients
(c) forthwith to withdraw in writing, all the said allegations, false and defamatory statements and the threats as aforesaid and
14. In the event of your failure and/or neglect to comply with the aforesaid requisitions as per Paragraph No.14 above, within a period of -7- days from the date of receipt hereof by you, our clients shall be constrained to adopt such civil and/or criminal proceedings against you, as they may be advised in that behalf, and for the costs and consequences whereof you will be liable, which please note.
15. Without prejudice to whatever has been stated above, our Clients reserves its rights to demand such compensation appropriate to the facts and circumstances of the loss suffered or may be suffered by our Clients due to your acts and omissions.


Yours truly,

M/s. PURANIK & CO.
Advocates & Solicitors