Gujarat High Court
Laxmanbhai Ratabhai Rabari vs Brach Manager - Indian Bank on 12 November, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/11232/2007 JUDGMENT DATED: 12/11/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 11232 of 2007
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE Sd/-
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
✓
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LAXMANBHAI RATABHAI RABARI & ANR.
Versus
BRACH MANAGER - INDIAN BANK & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR DN PANDYA(545) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1,2
MR JJ YAJNIK(1008) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR RAMNANDAN SINGH(1126) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MS AB CHATURVEDI(5419) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE
Date : 12/11/2025
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners.
2. It is submitted that by order dated 20.06.2007, this Court had
directed to release the fixed deposit in favour of the petitioners and
accordingly, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioner
has received the amount of fixed deposit along with the interest accrued
thereon. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that in view thereof,
the prayers B, C and D have been satisfied. He submits that only the
prayers 11(E) and 11(F) survive for adjudication in the present case,
which is for grant of damages and exemplary costs.
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3. The factual matrix in the present case is that the petitioner's major
son expired in an untoward incident on 21.03.1998 while travelling as a
bona fide passenger in 54 UP Ahmedabad-Anand Shuttle. The petitioners
herein filed claim Application No.OA9900016 before the Railway
Tribunal, Ahmedabad. By judgment and award dated 09.03.1999, the
learned Tribunal was pleased to award Rs.4,00,000/- as compensation to
the petitioners. Vide said order, the petitioners were paid Rs.1,00,000/- by
way of account payee cheque and the remaining amount of Rs.3,00,000/-
was directed to be deposited with the Indian Bank in a fixed deposit for 5
years.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that upon maturity of
the said amount, respondent no.1-Bank did not release the fixed deposit
amount along with the interest accrued thereon since the said fixed
deposit carried an endorsement that no payment was to be made to the
petitioners till the final order of the High Court. The learned counsel for
the petitioners submits that the petitioners being illiterate were not aware
of any High Court proceedings and therefore, could not produce any
order of the High Court on record, due to which the petitioners had to
suffer untoward hardship and prejudice. The learned counsel submits that
they were never intimated of any appeal being filed in the High Court by
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the Union of India represented by General Manager, Western Railways.
He submits that thereafter the petitioners contacted their advocate
representing them in the Railway Claims Tribunal. It was revealed that
the First Appeal No.2579 of 1999 challenging the order awarding
compensation dated 09.03.1999 passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal
was filed on 29.04.1999 and the same was dismissed for default on
01.03.2002. He submits that it appears from the record that Misc.
Application No.371 of 2002 was filed to restore the said appeal, which
came to be allowed on 28.03.2002 and on the very same day, the First
Appeal also came to be summarily dismissed by the Hon'ble High Court.
He submits that the said order dated 28.03.2002 was never communicated
to the petitioners by the High Court Registry or by the respondent no.2-
Registrar, Railway Claims Tribunal. He submits that in view thereof at
the time of maturity of the said fixed deposit, the petitioners could not get
the same credited to their account. He submits that there was no
obligation on the part of the petitioners to produce such an order and
therefore, the respondent no.1-Bank ought to have credited the amount of
the fixed deposit in the bank account of the petitioners upon its maturity.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submits that the
petitioners had to get their daughters married and also educate their minor
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second son and that they were relying upon the receipt of this maturity
amount of fixed deposit for the same. He submits that however, since the
respondent no.1-Bank did not release the maturity amount in favour of
the petitioners, the petitioners herein were constrained to file the present
Special Civil Application praying for a direction to forthwith deposit the
maturity amount with interest to the petitioners' bank account. He
submits that the petitioners have had to suffer untoward hardship and
prejudice since they had to create mortgage on their agricultural land for
getting their daughters married and their son educated. He submits that
the present situation came to be created due to the direction passed by the
Additional Registrar, Railway Claims Tribunal, who had specifically
directed the respondent-Bank that no payment/realization of the fixed
deposit amount shall be made till final judgment of the Hon'ble High
Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad is received or conveyed to the Bank.
6. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that it was the duty of
the Additional Registrar to inform the bank about the order dated
28.03.2002 passed by the High Court in First Appeal No.2579 of 1999.
He further submits that upon coming to know of the disposal of the First
Appeal, they had given communication dated 17.04.2006 to respondent
no.1-Bank stating that the First Appeal No.325 of 1999 preferred by the
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General Manager, Western Railways, was dismissed on 28.03.2002 and
also had annexed a copy of the said order. Still the respondent no.1-Bank
refused to release the maturity amount in favour of the petitioners.
Learned counsel for the petitioners, therefore, submits that the approach
of the respondent-Bank as well as the Registrar, Railway Claims Tribunal
has resulted in undue hardships to the petitioners, whereby they are
entitled to exemplary damages and costs in the present case.
7. Per contra, learned advocate Mr.Ramnandan Singh appearing on
behalf of the respondent no.2-Railway Claims Tribunal submits that vide
judgment and award dated 09.03.1999, Rs.4,00,000/- came to be awarded
to the petitioners towards compensation and Rs.1,00,000/- was paid to the
petitioners and Rs.3,00,000/- were to be deposited in a fixed deposit for 5
years. He submits that the General Manager, Western Railway filed First
Appeal No.2579 of 1999 on 29.04.1999. He submits that the amount of
Rs.3,00,000/- came to be deposited by the General Manager, Western
Railway in the learned Tribunal, which came to be disbursed in terms of
the order dated 09.03.1999 and accordingly, fixed deposit amounting to
Rs.3,00,000/- came to be made for a term of 5 years in the name of the
petitioners on 28.07.1999. He submits that the respondent no.2 had
complied with the order dated 09.03.1999 since the First Appeal was filed
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by the General Manager, Western Railway prior to the creation of the
fixed deposit in favour of the petitioners and endorsement was made on
the fixed deposit that the same shall be payable after production of the
High Court order. He submits that respondent no.2 had not further role in
the case.
8. Respondent no.1-Bank has filed its reply, wherein it is stated that
the endorsement "no payment/realization of fixed deposit amount will be
made till the final judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat at
Ahmedabad." was in accordance with the communication dated
14.07.1999 received by the respondent no.2. It is stated that necessary
noting was accordingly endorsed on the fixed deposit receipts in favour
of the petitioners. It is further stated that upon expiration of 5 years period
on 28.07.2004 as no further directions were received from respondent no2
nor any order was produced, the said fixed deposit came to be renewed
from time to time at the prevailing applicable rate of interest. It is,
therefore, submitted that the respondent no.1 had no alternative other than
to renew fixed deposit receipts from time to time till its payment to the
petitioners.
9. Heard learned counsel for the parties. Perused the documents on
record and considered the submissions.
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10. In the present case, it is not in dispute that the fixed deposit
amounting to Rs.3,00,000/- came to be made in favour of the petitioners
with the respondent no.1 in terms of the judgment and award dated
09.03.1999 passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Ahmedabad. It is
also not in dispute that the said fixed deposit was created for a period of 5
years. That upon maturity, the said fixed deposit was not paid to the
petitioners in view of the endorsement made on the fixed deposit being
"no payment/realization of fixed deposit amount will be made till the
final judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad." The
averments and the documents on record reveal that the First Appeal
No.2579 of 1999 came to be filed on 24.09.1999 by the General Manager,
Western Railway challenging the judgment and award dated 09.03.1999.
The said First Appeal came to be dismissed for default on 01.03.2002 that
thereafter, Misc. Civil Application No.371 of 2002 came to be filed for
restoring said First Appeal, which came to be allowed on 28.03.2002
restoring the First Appeal. Further, the said First Appeal was heard and
decided simultaneously on the same day. The High Court was pleased to
dismiss the said First Appeal summarily. Learned counsel for the
petitioners has submitted that no notice was issued to the petitioners or
the same was received by them and therefore, the petitioners were
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unaware of such proceedings in the High Court. It is averred and also
submitted that the petitioners were relying upon the said amount of fixed
deposit for the purpose of conducting marriage of their daughters and
towards education of their minor second son. Since the respondent-Bank
has not released the fixed deposit in favour of the petitioners, they had to
mortgage their land in question to perform such duties. It is also averred
that since respondent no.2 had issued direction not to release the fixed
deposit in favour of the petitioners till final order of the High Court, it
was the duty of the respondent no.2 to intimate to respondent no.1-Bank
for release of the fixed deposit in favour of the petitioners, which was not
done in the present case. The petitioners claim to have suffer hardship
due to the said lapse. Though such averments are made in the petition,
nothing is placed on record to substantiate the same. The details and
particulars of such mortgage and marriages are not placed on record.
11. The fixed deposit matured on 28.07.2004, however, since there was
no High Court order in respect of the First Appeal No.2579 of 1999
preferred by the General Manager, Western Railway, the respondent
no.1-Bank has renewed the fixed deposit in favour of the petitioners for a
further period of one year. That by communication dated 17.04.2006, the
petitioners have communicated to the respondent no.1 providing the
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copy, however a perusal of the said communication shows that the First
Appeal number and the date of order are different and do not pertain to
the first appeal preferred by the Union of India, General Manager,
Western Railways. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the fixed
deposits came to be released in favour of the petitioners vide order dated
20.06.2007 passed by this Court in the present proceedings. The said
fixed deposit came to be released along with interest accrued thereon,
which is not denied by the petitioners.
12. In the present case, since the fixed deposits have been released in
favour of the petitioners along with the accrued interest thereon and
further as there is no substantiation to the prejudice and the damages
suffered by the petitioners, this Court is of the considered opinion that the
damages as prayed for cannot be granted in absence of any cogent
material on record. Accordingly, the prayer clause 11(E) and 11(F) for
grant of appropriate damages and award of costs is declined. The present
petition stands disposed of. No order as to costs.
Sd/-
(ANIRUDDHA P. MAYEE, J.)
ABHISHEK/26
