Tripura High Court Slams SBI for Customer Harassment, Orders Salary Freeze of Two Senior Officials, Imposes Rs. 50,000 Penalty on the Bank

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, December 12, 2025

In a landmark judgment exposing recurring allegations of customer harassment in Tripura’s banking sector, the Tripura High Court has found the State Bank of India (SBI) guilty of unjustly victimising a customer and has temporarily frozen the salaries of two of its senior officials. The order was passed after the bank failed to lift an unlawful freeze placed on the account of Suman Roy, a customer of SBI’s Kanchanpur branch.

Multiple banks in Tripura have long faced accusations of unnecessary delays in loan disbursals and deliberately harassing customers under the pretext of additional documentation. Despite complaints reaching the top management, strong and timely action against erring officials has often been absent. Even Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy has previously criticised several banks for harassing customers for days instead of providing timely loan and various banking services.

The latest case reached the High Court after SBI continued to keep Suman Roy’s account frozen despite the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police issuing a clearance certificate on 18 July 2024, allowing his account to operate fully. Repeated requests by the customer to unfreeze the account were ignored by various SBI officials, forcing him to approach the court with a writ petition.

Hearing the matter, Justice T Amarnath Goud issued strong objections and summoned the SBI Kanchanpur Branch Manager and the Assistant General Manager from SBI Hyderabad to appear in person. Their explanations in court were found unsatisfactory, and the High Court held them responsible for causing unnecessary harassment to the customer. As a consequence, the court ordered the temporary suspension of their salaries.

During the proceedings, it was revealed that although the Cyber Crime Department had closed its investigation in July 2024, declaring the petitioner innocent, its inspector unexpectedly issued a fresh summons during the writ proceedings. The High Court expressed surprise at this contradictory move and issued a notice to the Cyber Crime Inspector. Advocate Purushottam Roy Barman, appearing for the petitioner, alleged that the new summons was orchestrated to protect senior bank officials and obstruct justice.

Faced with the High Court’s firm stance, SBI finally lifted all restrictions on Suman Roy’s account on 8 December. On 10 December, the court withdrew its salary-freeze order after confirming the account had been restored. However, as a reprimand for unjustified harassment and prolonged negligence, the High Court imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on SBI.

This judgment is expected to send a strong message to banks across Tripura to ensure transparency, accountability, and customer-friendly practices, especially in loan processing and handling customer grievances.

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