An insurance company can only appeal on the grounds enumerated in Section 149(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and cannot appeal on the merits of the claim unless it is impleaded as a party and an order is passed under Section 170 of the Act.

( 1 ) THIS appeal at the instance of the Insurance Company is directed against a Judgment award dated 31-7-1996 passed by B. N. Biswas, Additional District Judge, (Judge, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal) Purulia in M. A. C. No. 1 of 1994.

( 2 ) THE question which has arisen for consideration is as to whether this appeal is maintainable.

( 3 ) MR. Das the ld. Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant, inter alia, submitted that as the Judgment under appeal is without any reason and furthermore as in no case of compensation to the extent of Rs. 2,00,000/- had been awarded for death of a 15 year old girl, the impugned Judgment should be set aside. The ld. Counsel in this connection has referred to a series of decisions. There may be an arguable question as regard the quantum of compensation but in this appeal the only question which arises for consideration is whether such question can be gone into by this Court.

( 4 ) IN terms of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, the defence of an Insurance Company is limited. For answering the aforementioned question the history of the relevant legislation, therefore, may be shortly noticed. In case of death or bodily injury arising out of an accident the amount of compensation could be claimed in a Civil Court. However, thereafter, several legislation came into being including Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 which was amended in the year 1976, pursuant whereto, all such claims became triable by a tribunal known as Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Tribunal. The Motor Vehicles Act, keeping in view the fact that the decretal amount could not be easily recovered from the owners of the vehicles, made insurance of each motor vehicle imperative so as to make the insurance company indemnified the insurer to the extent of the loss suffered by it. Such a provision exists in S. 146 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Section 149 imposes a duty upon the insurer to satisfy judgments and awards against persons insured in respect of third party interest. It is not necessary to implead the insurance company as a party in such a proceeding but it is done either in terms of S. 149 (2) of the Act. It is not that the insurance company cannot be impleaded as a party with a view to contest the claim at all. It may only in terms of S. 170 of the Motor Vehicles Act if the claim tribunal is satisfied that - (a) there is collusion between the person making the claims and the person against whom the claim is made; or (b) the person against whom the claim is made has failed to contest the claim.

( 5 ) IN such an event, the Insurance Company can raise all defences including those which are available to the owners.

( 6 ) AN application, therefore, has to be filed to the court for impleading the insurer and an appropriate order thereupon may be passed for reasons to be recorded in writing. This is in contradistinction to the liability of the insurer as contained in sub-section (2) of S. 149, which reads thus :-"section 149 : Duty of insurers to satisfy Judgments and awards against persons insured in respect of third party risks :- (1 ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2) No sum shall be payable by an insurer under sub-section (1) in respect of any Judgment or award unless, before the commencement of the proceedings in which the judgment or award is given the insurer had notice through the Court or, as the case may be, the Claims Tribunal of the bringing of the proceedings, or in respect of such Judgment or award so long as execution is stayed thereon pending an appeal : and an insurer to whom notice of the bringing of any such proceedings is so given shall be entitled to be made a party thereto and to defend the action on any of the following grounds, viz; (a) that there has been a breach of a specified condition of the policy, being one of the following conditions, viz : (I) a condition excluding the use of the vehicle- (a) for hire or reward, where the vehicle is on the date of th