JUDGMENT :

VENUTHURUMALLI GOPALA KRISHNA RAO, J.

1. The appellant is 2nd respondent/Insurance company and the respondents are claim petitioners and 1st respondent in M.V.O.P.No. 201 of 2011 on the file of the Chairman, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal-cum-II Additional District Judge, Ongole. The appellant filed the appeal questioning the legal validity of the order of the Tribunal.

2. For the sake of convenience, both the parties in the appeal will be referred to as they are arrayed in the claim application.

3. The claim petitioners filed a petition under Section 163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short “the Act”) claiming compensation of Rs.5,00,000/- for the death of Tella Phanitapu Nagaraju in a road accident that took place on 15.10.2010.

4. The brief averments in the petition filed by the petitioners are as follows:

On 15.10.2010 at about 11.00 p.m. the deceased was going towards Eluru from J.R.Gudem in his auto along with passengers and when the auto reached near Tookala bridge, a tractor-trailer bearing registration Nos.AP 37AF 3852 & AP 37Y 2241 being driven by its driver in a rash and negligent manner without observing the vehicles, came in opposite direction and hit the