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2016 (6) TMI 865 - HC - CustomsRecovery of demand through bank - current account was frozen - whether the bank is bound to keep the amount lying to the credit of the current account of the Plaintiff in a Fixed Deposit. - certain sum retained by the Defendant bank by freezing the Plaintiff's account on instructions of the customs department of Government of India. - The Plaintiff claims to have issued a mandate to the Defendant bank to keep the said sum in fixed deposit whilst the account was frozen. The Plaintiff's case is that despite such mandate, the amount was kept in a suspense account which did not earn any interest. - Held that:- There is no form filled in by the Plaintiff for keeping any fixed deposit with the Defendant Bank. There is no indication of any particular duration of the purported deposit or its kind, whether cumulative or requiring periodical interest payments, or otherwise. There no mandate for further renewals. Besides, the bank was obliged not to honour any payment instructions from the Plaintiff due to the requisition of the Collector of Customs and also instructions received by it from the remitting bank. In the premises, the Defendant was not liable to act on the letter of 7 July 1998, unilaterally issued by the Plaintiff, and hold the amount in a fixed deposit. Any contract of Fixed Deposit with a bank is a bilateral matter involving both the bank and the constituent. There is no dispute between the parties that amounts lying in the current account or sundry creditors account do not bear any interest. No interest is payable on a current account or an account in the nature of a current account. - Decided against the plaintiff.
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