Consumer forum directs Bajaj Finance to issue NOC, pay compensation to Mangalore auto owner
Mangalore: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Bajaj Finance Limited to provide all necessary loan-related documents and issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to a complainant who alleged deficiency in service. The Commission has also directed the finance company to pay a compensation of ₹25,000 and litigation costs of ₹10,000 for failing to address the grievances of the complainant in a timely manner.
The case was filed by Mohammed Nawaz, a 30-year-old resident of Demmale Gudde House in Mallur Village, Mangalore Taluk, against Bajaj Finance Limited, represented by its Managing Director. The complainant was represented by Advocate Shwetha, while Advocate Rupesh Kumar N appeared on behalf of the finance company. Nawaz had taken a loan of ₹1,90,000 from the Moodabidre Branch of Bajaj Finance Limited on September 30, 2018, for the purchase of an auto-rickshaw under Loan Agreement No. L3WMLR06324087. As per the agreement, he was required to repay the amount in 60 monthly installments of ₹5,526 each.
Nawaz claimed that he had diligently paid his Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs), even during the COVID-19 pandemic when many borrowers struggled to meet their financial commitments. By the time he sought a loan closure certificate to remove the hypothecation of his vehicle (KA19AC6385) from the Regional Transport Office (RTO), he had already paid a total amount of ₹3,28,500.16 towards the loan and interest. However, to his shock, Bajaj Finance refused to issue the NOC, citing an outstanding balance of ₹1,22,356.76. Nawaz disputed this claim, alleging that the company was engaging in unfair trade practices by demanding an additional sum that was neither justified nor documented properly.
After repeated requests failed to yield any response from Bajaj Finance, Nawaz served a legal notice to the company on January 26, 2024, followed by a corrected notice on January 29, 2024. In his notice, he demanded a copy of the loan application and sanction letter, the hypothecation agreement along with other loan-related documents, and the NOC for the removal of hypothecation from the vehicle. Despite these notices, the company allegedly failed to respond, leading Nawaz to file a complaint under Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
In response, Bajaj Finance admitted that the loan was sanctioned but argued that the complainant had defaulted on his payments. The company claimed that Nawaz had availed of a moratorium from March 2020 to August 2020 due to financial constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic. It stated that, as a result, the loan tenure was extended from the initially agreed 60 months to 77 months, with additional interest applied for the deferred payments. Bajaj Finance further alleged that the complainant had not cleared the EMIs for the moratorium period and failed to provide proof of payments made. The finance company also contended that the dispute involved complex legal interpretations and should have been addressed in a civil court rather than a consumer forum.
The Consumer Commission, after carefully analyzing the documents and hearing the arguments, found that Nawaz had provided substantial proof that he had made regular payments amounting to ₹3,28,500.16. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance failed to submit any valid evidence to justify its claim of an additional outstanding amount. The Commission ruled that the finance company was guilty of deficiency in service for refusing to issue the NOC and the requested loan-related documents despite the complainant having fulfilled his repayment obligations.
Following the proceedings, the Commission partly allowed the complaint and passed an order directing Bajaj Finance to provide all loan-related documents to the complainant and issue the NOC for the removal of hypothecation of vehicle KA19AC6385 before the RTO. Additionally, the company was instructed to pay ₹25,000 as compensation for the inconvenience caused due to its failure to provide proper service and ₹10,000 towards the legal expenses incurred by the complainant.
The Commission specified that the directives must be implemented within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order. Failure to comply with the ruling would attract further legal action under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
