The chaos was because a warrant for attachment of moveable property was served on the branch, for the execution of a decree for settlement of an accident claim for Rs 18 lakh. Anandi, wife of the late Muthuraman, walked into the branch office with the court ameen and served the notice on the branch Manager P B Naik.
Accepting the mistake, Naik requested the complainant for a week’s time to settle the claims.

On November 21, 1999, Muthuraman and his colleague Alex Abraham were killed when their car was hit by a truck near Puttenahalli bus stop.

Muthuraman’s family filed a case for compensation with the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bangalore City under Section 166 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1989 vide MVC No 920 in March 2000.

In 2003, the tribunal ordered the New India Assurance, the insurer for the truck, to pay Rs 18 lakh compensation. The company went on appeal to the High Court but it was dismissed in 2006.

However, the company did not make any move to settle the claims, forcing Muthuraman’s family to seek an execution order.

Naik told Deccan Herald: “I sincerely agree that my advocate has erred in his duties and there is a communication gap. We are at fault and we have requested the court and the complainant to give us a week’s time to appear in the court and settle the dues before March 25, 2008.”

“For no fault of ours we were forced to run from pillar to post. Despite the court orders, lawyers were playing havoc. If the compensation money comes in time, it would be helpful for my children’s education,” Anandi said.