The mandatory investment of compensation awarded to minors in long term fixed deposits and the discretion allowed for illiterate, semi-literate, and literate claimants, as emphasized by the Supreme Court guidelines, must be considered by the adjudicating authority.

JUDGMENT :

Yashwant Varma, J.

1. Affidavits of service have been filed by the petitioners which are taken on record. From the averments made therein it is evident that the Insurance Company stands duly served.

2. Both these petitions impugn orders passed by the Lok Adalat proceeding to direct the securitization and placement in deposit of substantial sums that had come to be settled and agreed to be paid by the Insurance Company in respect of a claim that came to be settled inter prates.

3. In Writ C No. 33606 of 2019, out of the total sum agreed between the parties, of Rs. 4,50,000 the Lok Adalat has proceeded to direct that a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- be placed in a fixed deposit of a Nationalised Bank for a period of five years and a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- be released. Insofar as the claimant No. 2 is concerned, it has provided that a sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- awarded shall be placed in a fixed deposit of a Nationalised Bank for a period of five years. The petitioner No. 1 is the father of the deceased. The petitioner No 2 is the son who, though a minor at the time when the incident occurred, had admittedly attained majority and was a signatory and a party to the compromise that was placed on the record of the Lok Adalat.

4. In Writ C No. 33176 of 2019, the petitioner No. 1 is the mother while the petitioner No. 2 is the father of the deceased. Both the petitioners are the parents of Abhishek Dixit, the deceased son. In this case also the Lok Adalat has made arrangements on similar lines and directed placement of a major part of the sum which was agreed to inter prates to be placed in a fixed deposit of a Nationalised Bank.

5. The procedure which the Tribunal is obliged to follow in order to secure the interest of a person under a legal disability or where some of the claimants are minors has been provided for in Rule 220-B of the U.P. Motor Vehicles Rules 1998 which reads thus:-

“220-B - Securing the interest of Claimants:-

(1) Where any lump-sum amount of compensation, deposited with the Claims Tribunal is payable to a woman or a person under legal disability, such sum may be invested, applied or otherwise dealt with for the benefit of the women or such person during his disability in such manner as the Claims Tribunal may direct to be paid to any dependent of the injured or heirs of the deceased or to any other person whom the Claims Tribunal thinks best fitted to provide for the welfare of the injured or the heir of the deceased.

(2) Where an application made to the Claims Tribunal in this behalf otherwise, the Claims Tribunal is satisfied that on account of neglect of the children on the part of the parents, or on account of the variation of the circumstances of any dependent, or for any other sufficient cause, an order of the Claims Tribunal as to the distribution of any sum paid as compensation or as to the manner in which any sum payable to any such dependent is to be invested applied or otherwise dealt with, ought to be varied, the Claims Tribunal may make such further orders for the variation of the former order as it thinks just in the circumstances of the case.

(3) The Claims Tribunal shall, in the case of minor, order that amount of compensation awarded to such minor be invested in the fixed deposits till such minor attains majority. The expenses incurred by the guardian or the next friend may be allowed to be withdrawn by such guardian or the next fiend from such deposits before it is deposited.

Provided that the interest payable on such deposits may be allowed to be utilized for education, maintenance and development of the minor with the permission of the Claims Tribunal.

(4) The Claims Tribunal shall, in the case of illiterate claimants, order that the amount of compensation awarded be invested in fixed deposits for a minimum period of three years, but if any amount is required for effecting purchase of any movable or immovable property for improving the income of the claimant, the Claims Tribunal may consider such a request af