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2003(6) Supreme 701
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
(From Madras High Court)
S.N. Variava & H.K. Sema, JJ.
The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. -Appellant
versus
C. Padma and Anr. -Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 5764 of 1997
Decided on 12-9-2003
Counsel for the Parties :
For the Appellant : Sunil Kapoor, Advocate for M.K. Dua, Advocate.
Held : Firstly, such an Act like Motor Vehicles Act is a beneficial legislation aimed at providing relief to the victims or their families, if otherwise the claim is found genuine. Secondly, it is a self contained Act which prescribes mode of filing the application, procedure to be followed and award to be made. The Parliament, in its wisdom, realised the grave injustice and injury being caused to the heirs and legal representatives of the victims who suffer bodily injuries/die in accidents, by rejecting their claim petitions at the threshold on the ground of limitation, and purposely deleted sub-section (3) of Section 166, which provided the period of limitation for filing the claim petitions and this being the intendment of the Legislature to give effective relief to the victims and the families of the motor accidents untrammeled by the technicalities of the limitation, invoking of Article 137 of the Limitation Act would defeat the intendment of the Legislature. (Para 12)
JUDGMENT
Sema, J.-This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 5.12.1996 passed by the High Court.
2. Briefly stated the facts leading to the filing of the present appeal arise out of the following circumstances. In a motor accident, which took place on 18.2.1989, the respondents sustained bodily injuries. The claim petition was filed on 2.11.1995, claiming compensation of Rs. one lakh. The Claims Tribunal rejected the plea of limitation raised by the appellant herein and awarded compensation of Rs. 45,000/-. The Revision Petition, filed by the appellant, was also dismissed by the High Court on 5.12.1996.
3. We have heard Mr. Sunil Kapoor, learned counsel for the appellant. Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 were put to notice. The Office Report dated 24.7.2003 disclosed that the notice was served on respondent No.1 on 14th October, 1997 by affixing notice on the door of the house of respondent No.1. A certificate of the High Court dated 24th October, 1997 indicates that respondent No.2 had refused to accept the notice and the same was affixed on the door of her given address. The respondents are, therefore, not represented before us.
4. The only contention, which has been strenuously urged by the counsel for the appellant, is that the accident had taken place on 18.2.1989 and the claim petition was filed on 2.11.1995; when the claim was barred under the old Act, the same could not have been revived under the new Act. It is his contention that on this score alone the claim petition should have been dismissed. To answer this contention it would be useful to have a quick survey of changes that have taken place in the Act. The old Act of 1939 has been repealed and since then there is a sea of changes in the Act. In the old Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the act ) sub-section (3) of Section 110-A provided:
"110-A. (3) No application for such compensation shall be entertained unless it is made within six months of the occurrence of the accident:
Provided that the Claims Tribunal may entertain the application after the expiry of the said period of six months if it is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application in time."
5. The 1939 Act was repealed w.e.f. 1.7.1989. The period of limitation prescribed in the new Act is provided under sub-section (3) of Section 166. It reads:-
"166(3) No application for such compensation shall be entertained unless it is made within six months of the occurrence of the accident:
Provided that the Claims Tribunal may entertain the application after the expiry of the said period of six months but not later than twelve months, if it is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application in time."
6. The only difference that has been brought about in between the old Act and the new Act is that the Tribunal may entertain an application after the expiry of period of six months but not later than twelve months.
7. In the instant case, at the time, when the respondents had filed claim petition on 2.11.1995, the situation was completely different. Sub-section (3) of Section 166 of the Act had been omitted by Act 53 of 1994 w.e.f. 14.11.1994. The result of the Act 53 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 1994 is that there is no limitation prescribed for filing claim petitions before the Tribunal in respect of any accident w.e.f. 14.11.1994.
8. It is noticed that the High Court while dismissing the Revision Petition filed by the appellant had followed the decision rendered by this Court in Dhannalal vs. D.P. Vijayyargiya, (1996) 4 SCC 652. The facts of that case were like this. The appellant was injured in a motor accident, which took place on 4-12-1990. The claim petition for compensation was filed before the Tribunal on 7.12.1991 along with an application for condonation of delay, which was allowed by the Tribunal by its order dated 18.11.1993. The validity of order of the Tribunal was challenged before the H
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