H M Patel Institute Of Post ... vs Nayana G Patel
2021 Latest Caselaw 14357 Guj

       C/LPA/444/2021                            ORDER DATED: 17/09/2021




             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                 R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 444 of 2021
              In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 5901 of 2008

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            H M PATEL INSTITUTE OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
                                Versus
                            NAYANA G PATEL
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Appearance:
MR UDIT N VYAS(9255) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2,3
NOTICE SERVED(4) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3
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     CORAM:HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR. JUSTICE
           R.M.CHHAYA
           and
           HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIREN VAISHNAV

                           Date : 17/09/2021
                            ORAL ORDER

(PER : HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE MR. JUSTICE R.M.CHHAYA)

1. Mr.Udit N. Vyas, learned advocate for the appellants is present.

2. By an order dated 08.06.2021, the coordinate Bench of this Court provided as under :

"3. Mr. Dhaval Dave, learned Senior Advocate, drew our attention to the facts mentioned in the Misc. Civil Application No.1 of 2019 and pointed out that after due calculation, as required in the judgment and order dated 20.08.2008, an amount of Rs.3,20,193/- was payable to the writ petitioner. He further submitted that despite the best efforts made by the present appellant i.e. the institute, the whereabouts of the writ petitioner are not known nor has she come forward to accept the said amount, which is still lying with this Court under orders passed in the writ petition at the initial stage.

Further, according to Mr. Dave, the amount has accumulated interest also and as of date, it is much more than what is actually due to the writ

C/LPA/444/2021 ORDER DATED: 17/09/2021

petitioner. He therefore submitted that the Court may issue appropriate directions to the Registry to return the amount lying in deposit with it to the applicant - appellant. By an order dated 13.02.2020 the Registry was directed to submit a report with regard to the total amount lying in deposit. Pursuant to the said order, the Registry submitted a report dated 24.02.2020. As per the report, the total amount of the principal plus the interest accrued till 20.02.2020 was Rs.6,88,344/-. The table mentions details of the amount deposited by the appellant, the amount withdrawn and paid to the writ petitioner, the balance amount and the final amount recorded above. From our records also, we are unable to find any request made by the original writ petitioner staking any claim on the amount due to her. Accepting the affidavit filed by the appellants in the Misc. Civil Application No.1 of 2019, an amount of Rs.3,20,193/- is due to the writ petitioner. Although Mr. Dave, learned Senior Advocate has submitted that the entire amount lying with the Registry may be paid to the appellant and the appellant would undertake that as and when the writ petitioner stakes her claim, the aforementioned amount of Rs.3,20,193/- would be paid to her. But we feel that the said amount may continue with the Registry or may be placed before the State Legal Services Authority at its disposal for larger benefit of the needy and poor or it may be given to the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association for the welfare of lawyers and clerks, who have extremely suffered during the last 16 months of the pandemic of Covid-19. For the time being, considering the request of Mr. Dave, we direct the Registry to retain an amount of Rs.3,21,000/- with it and continue it in fixed deposit and the remaining amount whatever it may have grown till today, may be returned to the appellant No.3 by way of an account payee cheque drawn in favour of Charutar Arogya Mandal within 15 days from today. The cheque may be collected by Mr. Udit Vyas or his registered clerk from the Registry upon proper verification.

C/LPA/444/2021 ORDER DATED: 17/09/2021

4. With the aforesaid order, this appeal would not require any further consideration except for the utilization of the remaining amount which will still continue with the Registry. We dispose of this appeal in view of the above observations. However, the matter may be listed before the appropriate Bench only for the purpose of issuing directions for proper utilization of the remaining amount, after 3 months."

3. We had called for the office report which indicates that now an amount of Rs.3,23,332/- (Rupees Three Lakhs Twenty Three Thousand Three Hundred and Thirty Two only) is lying in FDR which also includes the principal amount of Rs.3,21,000/- (Rupees Three Lakhs Twenty One Thousand only) as per the order dated 08.06.2021. We direct that an amount of Rs.1,11,000/- (Rupees One Lakh Eleven Thousand only) be given to the Gujarat High Court Advocates' Association for welfare of Lawyers and Clerks to be utilized by the Association for Lawyers and Clerks who have suffered in pandemic of COVID-19. Rest of the amount be remitted to the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority.

4. The appeal is otherwise disposed of.

(THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE R.M.CHHAYA, J)

(BIREN VAISHNAV, J) GAURAV J THAKER