ORDER :- The petitioners, who were minors at the time when this petition was filed on 9-8-1978, seek a declaration "that the respondents are under a legal obligation, subject to the terms of the relevant contract between them and the assured, to pay surrender value even to a Hindu minor absolute assignee of the contract, acting through his natural or legal guardian "and for a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to pay forthwith to the petitioners, acting through the father and natural or legal guardian, surrender value of all three policies.

2. The facts leading to the present writ-petition, briefly stated, are as follows.

The petitioners were born on 20-3-1961, 4-10-1963 and 13-12-1965 respectively. Their father, who is admittedly their natural guardian had obtained 17 policies of life insurance from the 2nd respondent. On the advice given by an insurance agent, he decided to surrender five of them and to invest the surrender value in fixed deposits. Out of these five policies, he assigned two policies to his wife under an irrevocable deed of assignment dated 8-10-1972 which was acknowledged by the respondent corporation under its letter dated 13-1-1973. The guardians wife

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