SUMITRA YADAV @ SUMETRY Vs. M.A.C.T.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition arises out of a situation where the compensation amount awarded in favour of the petitioner by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in the year 1994, and directed to be kept in a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) till she attained majority, remained unattended, unrenewed and deprived of interest for more than a decade due to gross administrative lapses on the part of the authorities concerned. The petitioner, upon attaining majority, discovered that the F.D.R. prepared in her favour had neither been renewed periodically nor had interest been credited in accordance with the award of the Tribunal. The learned Tribunal, however, by order dtd. 4/9/2013, rejected her application seeking payment of due interest, compelling the petitioner to invoke the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that on 7/11/1991, the father of the petitioner died in a motor accident caused due to the rash and negligent driving of Truck No.URN-9040 near Sarda Chungi, Tanakpur, District Nainital (now Udham Singh Nagar). At the time of the accident, the petitioner was a minor. Her mother, acting on her behalf, instituted a claim petition before the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Nainital, being MACP No.403 of 1992 (Smt. Manju Devi and Ors. Vs. Tara Datt and Ors.). The learned M.A.C.T./IVth Additional District Judge, Nainital, vide award dtd. 30/8/1994, allowed the claim petition and awarded a compensation of Rs.1,24,600.00 along with interest @ 10% per annum in favour of the claimants. Out of the awarded amount, a specific share was directed to be kept in a Fixed Deposit Receipt (F.D.R.) in favour of the present petitioner till she attained majority. In compliance with the said award, the Insurance Company deposited the awarded amount before the Tribunal. The share of the petitioner was accordingly directed to be secured in the form of an F.D.R. under the custody and supervision of the Tribunal. Pursuant thereto, on 17/8/1995, an FDR amounting to Rs.46,952.00 was prepared in Punjab National Bank, Mall Road, Nainital, for a period of two years. The said FDR matured on 17/8/1997, attaining a maturity value of Rs.59,477.00. However, thereafter, the F.D.R. was neither presented for renewal nor renewed by the authorities concerned. The amount, as later disclosed by the bank, was transferred to an "overdue category account".

(3.) From the year 1997 onwards, no interest was credited in favour of the petitioner on the matured amount. The F.D.R. remained unattended for several years while the petitioner, being a minor, had no knowledge, control, or access to the said deposit which remained in the custody of the Tribunal. Upon attaining majority, the petitioner approached the learned Tribunal seeking release of the amount. Vide order dtd. 7/5/2013, the M.A.C.T. permitted the petitioner to withdraw the F.D.R. amount along with interest. However, on 8/5/2013, the bank released only a sum of Rs.77,569.00 in favour of the petitioner. Being surprised at the meagre amount, the petitioner made enquiries and came to know that the FDR prepared in her favour in the year 1995 had not been renewed after its maturity in 1997 and no interest had been credited for a long period extending from 1997 to 2007 and thereafter. The petitioner, therefore, moved an application before the learned M.A.C.T. seeking directions for payment of the entire interest as per the award dtd. 30/8/1994. In response, the bank filed its reply stating that the F.D.R. was initially prepared for two years as per instructions of the Office of the District Judge and upon its maturity in 1997, the same was not presented for renewal and thus, as per bank guidelines, the amount was kept in an "overdue category account" on which no interest was payable. The bank further relied upon a circular dtd. 30/3/2011 to justify the subsequent calculation of interest and the amount paid to the petitioner in 2013. The learned M.A.C.T., however, vide order dtd. 4/9/2013, rejected the petitioner's application for payment of interest, leading to the filing of the present writ petition.