Court No. - 36
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 43563 of 2018 Petitioner :- Smt. Ranju Respondent :- Nafees And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Satya Deo Ojha Counsel for Respondent :- Vipin Chandra Dixit
Hon'ble Mrs. Sunita Agarwal,J.
The order passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in rejecting the release application filed by the petitioner for release of compensation money invested in FDR pursuant to an award dated 22.4.2018 in MACP No.256 of 2017 (Smt. Ranju & Ors. v. Nafees & Ors.) is under challenge in the present petition.
At the outset, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Motor Accident Claims Petition was decided in terms of the compromise arrived between the claimants and the insurance company. The insurance company had admitted its liability to indemnify the insurance claim. In the said scenario, it was not open for the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal to invest the compensation money in a fixed deposit account, which causes detriment to the claimants. The claimant no.1 is the widow of the deceased and claimant nos.2 and 3 are the parents. The total compensation money has been distributed amongst the widow and parents of the deceased. The claim of claimant no.4, however, has not been accepted.
The application for release of compensation money awarded to claimant no.1 i.e. widow has been rejected vide order impugned solely on the ground that much time has not been elapsed and the FDR is not mature. The claimant has not been able to make out a case for premature withdrawal of FDR to release the compensation money.
Having noticed the fact and circumstances, in which, the award of Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal has been passed on 22.4.2018, this Court is of the considered view that there was no reason for the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal to invest the money in fixed deposit. The widow of the deceased was held entitled to Rs.30 lacs towards compensation out of which Rs.7,50,000/- has been deposited in a fixed deposit scheme. The claimant no.1/widow of the deceased needed this money and, therefore, had entered into the compromise with the insurance company. The purpose of passing an award before the Permanent Lok Adalat is to settle the dispute between the parties amicably in an expeditious manner, without subjecting the poor claimant to the rigorous process of litigation.
This Court in Petition No.4044 of 2017 (Smt. Meena Devi & 2 Ors. v. M/S Allahabad Galvensing Co. Ltd. & 3 Ors.) has held that the matter where the award is passed on a compromise with the Permnent Lok Adalat, in case, the Tribunal proceeds to invest the money in fixed deposit that may cause prejudice to the claimant. In any case, the award passed on the compromise between the parties cannot be challenged before a higher court.
The National Lok Adalat has a statutory backing and is organized under Section 19 of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (in short Act' 1987) with a view to mitigate the crisis being faced by the litigants due to delay in disposal of cases in the Courts. The object and purpose of holding the National Lok Adalat is to bring the dispute to its logical end by settlement between the parties, expeditiously, with lesser costs and to reduce the burden of arrears of work in regular Courts. The award of the National Lok Adalat is not appealable as per Section 21 of the Act, 1987.
In view of above, there was no occasion for the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal to withhold the release of the entire compensation money awarded to the claimant. To add to their agony, the tribunal has rejected the application filed by the claimants for release, specifically stating her need. The Motor Accident Claim Tribunal has erred in refusing to release the awarded money on the ground that the FDRs have not been matured.
For the aforesaid reasons, the order impugned dated 24.9.2018 passed in Misc. Case No.46 of 2018 arising out of Motor Accident Claims Petition No.256 of 2017, cannot be sustained. The same is hereby set aside. The matter is remitted back to the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal who is Additional District Judge, Muzzafar Nagar to pass fresh order for premature withdrawal of FDR and release of the invested money in the name of the claimant no.1/applicant, after verification of her identity and relationship with the deceased.
Subject to the above observations and directions, the present petition is disposed of.
Order Date :- 29.1.2019 Jyotsana