CHENNAI: Allegations of misappropriation of a major portion of the compensation amount awarded by the government to the parents of those who died in the 2004 Kumbakonam fire tragedy got bigger with nearly 50 such aggrieved parents moving the High Court on Friday to implead themselves as parties in the original contempt application filed in 2017.
According to one such complainants, U Marimuthu of Asoor in Kumbakonam, whose son Mohan Kumar was burnt to death in the fire at Sri Krishna School on July 16 , 2004, the government, after a great deal of court proceedings and negotiations, awarded a compensation starting from `5 lakh each to the parents of the victims with interest.
The government deposited Rs 8.01 lakh in his bank account in the Koranattu Karuppur branch of the City Union Bank on December 21, 2016.
Even before the amount was deposited in his account, counsel S Tamilarasan came to Kumbakonam and summoned the parents and obtained two undated cheques and signed blank papers from each of the claimants. Thereafter, to his shock and surprise, he received a message from the bank on December 22, saying that `2.30 lakh was deducted from his account. He rushed to the bank and found to his dismay that the counsel had misused the blank cheques and diverted the money to his name and to those of his close relatives.
The said action was illegal, high-handed, fraudulent and in breach of the trust of the claimants. The advocate was already paid Rs 3,500 towards fees. He, thus, had collected Rs 3.50 lakh from the 100 claimants.
He sought to implead himself as a party in the contempt application pending before the High Court and prayed for a direction to the advocate to refund Rs 2.30 lakh.
When the matter came up on Friday, a Division Bench of Justices R Mahadevan and V Parthiban permitted the petitioners to implead themselves in the case and posted the matter for orders on April 9.