Finding that in most of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals, huge amounts are lying in the Civil Court Deposit (CCD) account without being invested in fixed deposits, the Madras High Court directed all the tribunals to reinvest the amounts into fixed deposit accounts in nationalised banks by August 30.
Chennai:
The division bench comprising Justices PN Prakash and Abdul Quddhose was passing interim orders on a suo motu plea it had taken to cleanse the accident claims jurisdiction bogged with various irregularities, including misappropriation by clerks.
One reason for the money lying idle was that the advocates file application calling for the amount, but when it is transferred to the CCD account, they do not proceed to collect it. Due to this, they get accumulated in CCD accounts for years without accruing interest.
“We cannot afford to allow this situation to continue indefinitely to the detriment of the claimants,” the bench led by Justice Prakash said.
It also criticised the practice of parking all the funds in the account of the Principal District Judge and Principal Sub Judge. “This has led to accumulation of huge amounts in their accounts, that too, without knowing as to which MCOP number the amount belongs to, thereby providing a fertile ground for misappropriation,” the bench said.
The bench directed the chief nodal officer to file a report on the desirability of directing all tribunals, including the court of the Additional District Judges and Additional Sub Judges, to open their own accounts to deal with the MCOP funds.
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