PARVATHY Vs. POST MASTER GENERAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE above Writ Petition has been filed by the petitioners praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents 1 to 3 to refund the matured sum of Rs. 3,60,000/- together with interest accrued thereon in the MIS JAR A/c. No. 22234 and to award compensation for the inordinate delay in refunding the deposit and mental agony undergone by them.

(2.) IN the affidavit filed in support of the above Writ Petition, the first petitioner would submit that she is a senior citizen; that her husband Mr. R. D. Shivappa had deposited a sum of Rs. 3,60,000/- on 3-5-1994 in MIS jnr No. 22234 in the Monthly Income scheme (MIS) at Jawahar Nagger Post Office, the third respondent herein for a period of five years citing the name of the 4th respondent herein as the nominee; that subsequently, he had deleted the fourth respondent as nominee and included the first petitioner in the said account as joint depositor; that her husband passed away on 10-12-1996; that after the demise of her husband, she became the sole account holder and owner of the money deposited with the third respondent; that during the lifetime of her husband, he had received the monthly income/interest accumulated in the deposit and after the demise of her husband, as the sole/joint account holder, she was receiving the monthly income/interest from the fixed deposit.

(3.) THE first petitioner would further submit that after the demise of her husband, since they do not have any issue, she is residing with her relative Mr. Ocheeswaran, the second petitioner herein and she had included him as the joint account holder in respect of the said MIS JNR account No. 22234; that on maturity of the said fixed deposit on 27-4-2000, the petitioners have claimed the amount; that though the petitioners complied with all the formalities as required by the second and third respondents way back in the month of April/may 2000, the respondents 2 and 3 had failed to refund the matured fixed deposit amount; that the second respondent had also stopped the payment of interest accrued on the fixed deposit to the petitioner; that on inquiry, the petitioners came to understand that the fourth respondent herein has also made a claim to the 2nd respondent on the ground that late R. D. Shivappa had executed a Will bequeathing the money deposited in the said account in his favour; that the fourth respondent has also filed a suit in O. S. No. 5936 of 2000 on the file of the City Civil court, Chennai for declaration and permanent injunction against the respondents 1 to 3 even without impleading the petitioners as parties to the said suit;