Cheques to claimants must be marked A/C payee

Justice S Vaidyanathan said, “It has been brought to the attention of the court that in the crossed cheques which are issued to the claimants, it is mentioned as ‘& Co.’ instead of ‘A/C Payee’. Such practice has to be avoided by all the Trial Courts and crossing should be made in the cheques only with the endorsement ‘A/C payee’.” 

The Judge directed the Registry to send a circular to all the courts dealing with Motor Claims Original Petition (MCOP) cases and ordering them to follow the stipulated condition in letter and spirit. Many claimants don’t get the full compensation amount due to them since the clause ‘& Co.’ enables others to encash the cheque. However, the Judge on holding that the Tribunal has erred in awarding the compensation under the heads “disability, pain and sufferings” enhanced the compensation awarded to a B.Tech student from 1.26 lakh to 3 lakh. 

On January 26, 2007 N Dileep was hit by a bus belonging to a private engineering college on ECR near Muttukkadu Boat Club sustaining grievous injuries. He had challenged the compensation awarded by the tribunal.