IMPORTANT POINT
A nominee cannot be held liable for excess interest earned on accounts operated by the deceased when the authorities failed to notify the depositor of exceeding limits during his lifetime.

JUDGMENT :

MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.

The instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is preferred by the petitioner on being aggrieved by an Office Letter dated 29.03.2017 issued by the respondent no. 4, whereby, the respondent no. 4 had requested the petitioner to refund an amount of Rs. 1,75,685/- at an early date for settlement of the petitioner’s claim case.

2. The reason assigned for asking refund of the amount of Rs. 1,75,685/- is that the amount has been earned as interest in excess. The petitioner has been informed by the Office Letter dated 29.03.2017 that the refund of the said excess amount of interest is necessary for settlement of the claim made by the petitioner in respect of the MIS Accounts, opened and operated by the husband of the petitioner, as during the course of such investment in the MIS Accounts, the petitioner’s husband, Late Tankeswar Borkataki exceeded the prescribed upper permissible limit of Rs. 4,50,000/-. The petitioner has been informed that the petitioner’s husband, Late Tankeswar Borkataki had thereby, earned monthly interest thereon in excess.

3. The petitioner is the widow of one Late Tankeswar Borkakati. The petitioner has stated that her husband, Late Tankeswar Borkakati was a school teacher and retired from service on superannuation as Assistant Headmaster from Lumding Assamese High School. Like her husband, the petitioner was also a school teacher and she retired from service on superannuation as Assistant Headmistress from Kanaklata Lower Primary School, Morigaon. It is stated that during his lifetime, Late Tankeswar Borkakati invested various amounts in a postal scheme, named, ‘Monthly Income Scheme’ [‘MIS’, for short] of the Postal Department.

4. The petitioner’s husband, Late Tankeswar Borkakati expired on 15.03.2016. As the petitioner was made the nominee by her deceased husband in respect of a number of MIS Accounts, the petitioner made an enquiry as regards those MIS Accounts after the demise of her husband. On enquiry, the petitioner had learnt that during his lifetime, her husband opened atleast four numbers of MIS Accounts – [i] Account no. 251044; [ii] Account no. 251045; [iii] Account no. 251046; and [iv] Account no. 251047 – jointly along with their son, and one individual MIS Account – Account no. 231242 - in his name. When the petitioner found that the maturity amounts in respect of the said MIS Accounts were not credited in the savings account of her Late husband either during his lifetime or after his death, the petitioner made a request before the respondent authorities to credit the maturity amounts of those MIS Accounts along with applicable interest in her favour, she being the nominee in respect of those Joint/Single MIS Accounts. It is in response to the said request of the petitioner, the impugned Office Letter came to be issued by the respondent no. 4 on 29.03.2017 asking the petitioner inter-alia to refund the amount of Rs. 1,75,685/- towards excess amount of interest paid for early settlement of her claim regarding MIS Accounts, opened and operated by her husband, Late Tankeswar Borkakati.

5. I have heard Mr. R. Chakravorty, learned counsel for the petitioner; and Ms. R. Devi, learned Central Government Counsel [CGC] for all the respondents.

6. Mr. Chakravorty, learned counsel for the petitioner during the course of his submissions, apart from reiterating the above-mentioned facts, has submitted that the petitioner after receipt of the impugned Office Letter dated 29.03.2017, submitted an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 in the year 2018 asking details of some more MIS Accounts, that is, Account nos. – 250700, 250701, 250702, 250703, 250713, 250714, 250850, 250851, 250852, 250853, 250854, 250855, 250899, 250900, 251208, 251210, 251211, 251212, 251215, 251216, 251222 - opened by her deceased husband during his lifetime; and the details of the deposits made in respec