Consumer court orders bank account of Yes Securities to be frozen

A consumer court in Delhi on Monday ordered the freezing of Yes Securities (India) Ltd’s (YSIL) bank accounts for failing to comply with its earlier judgment that directed the company to refund a consumer’s subscription money along with compensation for mental agony and harassment.

In its January judgment, the court found YSIL guilty of “deficiency in service and unfair trade practice” and ordered the company to refund the full subscription amount with interest and compensation. (REUTERS)

The Delhi district consumer disputes redressal commission (north district), led by commission president Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar, took “serious note of the non-compliance of the order in execution” by the full-service stockbroking firm.

According to the commission, despite being granted sufficient time, YSIL did not execute its January 18 order requiring the wholly owned subsidiary of Yes Bank Ltd to refund ₹59,000 ( ₹50,000 plus GST) along with 9% annual interest. The firm was also ordered to pay an additional ₹50,000 as compensation to the complainant, who accused YSIL of not delivering the services promised under a subscription plan. The judgment, passed nearly nine months ago, has remained unenforced, noted the commission, prompting it to take strict action.

During the hearing on Monday, the commission, also including Harpreet Kaur Charya and Ashwani Kumar Mehta as members, expressed its dissatisfaction with YSIL’s repeated delays and lack of compliance. The company’s legal representative informed the court that YSIL intended to challenge the original order, but this was dismissed as an unjustifiable reason for further delay. The commission emphasized that the limitation period for challenging the judgment had long passed, noting that YSIL had more than ample time to contest the ruling.

In its order, the commission stated: “Sufficient time has already been elapsed and the JD (judgment debtor) has not complied with order in execution. The limitation period for challenging the order has also elapsed. The averment that the JD is intending to challenge the order in execution after more than nine months since the order in execution was passed, is not a justifiable reason for not complying with the order.” It further stated that on the previous hearing date, the court had made it clear that no further opportunities would be granted to YSIL to comply with the ruling.

As a result of the continued non-compliance, the commission directed the freezing of the company’s two bank accounts – a Yes Bank account in Mumbai and an HDFC bank account in Mumbai, to enforce the judgment.

The commission directed the branch managers of Yes Bank and HDFC Bank to immediately freeze any debit transactions on the listed accounts. The banks are required to submit a compliance report to the court within one week, with the matter next listed on October 8.

The case originates from a complaint filed under Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, in which a senior citizen accused YSIL of failing to provide promised services after subscribing to their Premium Research Service (PRS) Silver plan. The complainant had paid ₹59,000, expecting assistance in converting physical shares to a Demat account and receiving market research and investment suggestions. However, the services were not rendered, leading to the legal dispute.

In its January judgment, the court found YSIL guilty of “deficiency in service and unfair trade practice” and ordered the company to refund the full subscription amount with interest and compensation. While YSIL did refund ₹50,000 to the complainant in February 2023, it failed to refund the remaining ₹9,000, which led to the continued legal proceedings.