Miscellaneous First Appeal filed under Section 173 (1) of the M.V. Act against the judgment and award dated 5.2.2008 passed in M.V.C. No. 1077/2006 on the file of the Prl. Civil Judge (Sr.Dn.) & J.M.F.C. & M.A.C.T., Srirangapatna, awarding compensation of Rs. 1,86,480/- with interest at 6 % p.a. from the date of petition till realization.

The driver pleads guilty before the Criminal Court and he is convicted. Can that plea of guilt by the driver become the sole criterion for allowing the claim petition by the M.A.C.T. when the evidence placed before it raises serious doubts as to the very factum of accident itself? This is the question that has cropped up in this appeal upon hearing the learned counsel for the parties.

2. In this appeal by the Insurance Company, the main ground urged is that the injuries sustained by the claimant on account of the hitting a road –side tree on Bannerghatta road has been transformed into a case of accident , involving the vehicle insured with the appellant herein, having dashed to the claimant’s vehicle on Pandavapura-Srirangapatna road. The pith and substance of the arguments advanced by the learned counsel Shri O. Mahesh for the appellant