Banks Cannot Rely on Assumed Negligence in Cyber Fraud Cases: HC Directs Refund to Customer

State Bank of India Vs Pallabh Bhowmick And 4 Ors (Gauhati High Court) The appeal before the Gauhati High Court concerned whether a bank was liable to compensate a customer for the loss of ₹94,204.80 due to fraudulent electronic transactions carried out on 18.10.2021. The Single Judge had set aside the Ombudsman’s order dated 07.03.2022—which had absolved the bank of liability—and directed the bank to deposit the disputed amount in the customer’s account, with liberty to recover it from the entity whose database had allegedly been breached. The bank challenged this direction. The cu...