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Gujarat High Court
Judgename :J.M.Panchal
COMPETENT AUTHORITY,gujarat HOUSING BOARD - Appellant
Versus
MITHAKHAN DINAKHAN NOTIYAR - Respondent
C.R.A. 1129 of 1992
Decided On : 09/03/1994
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – Sections 140, 147 (2) and 149 (1) – Gujarat Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 – Rule 231 – Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – Section 115 – Accident – Death and permanent disablement – Liability of insurance company – When liable – Tribunal held that the defence that the claimant was a passenger travelling in a goods vehicle without any goods and, therefore, the Insurance Company was not liable to satisfy claim made under Sec. 140 of the Act, was not available to the Insurance Company in a proceeding under Sec. 140 of the Act – In that view of the conclusion, the Tribunal has ordered the petitioner and opponent Nos. 2 and 3 herein to pay amount with interest from the date of application till realisation, giving rise to the present Revision Application – Tribunal is to inquire into objection raised by the Insurance Company under the Act. Should such objections be treated as preliminary issue and be decided by the Tribunal in the first instance which in the nature of things would result in delay in regard to the payment of amount under Sec. 140 of the Act to the claimant and defeat the very purpose underlying the enactment of the provision – Held, Defences raised by insurer or other objections of insurer or owner should be examined later when claims petition is decided on merits – Claims Tribunal would be entitled to make award under Sec. 140 of Act as soon as it comes to the conclusion that owner of the vehicle was involved and insured – Persons primarily responsible to pay compensation or damages for the accident to the injured or the heirs or legal representatives of deceased are normally driver and owner of offending vehicle – Liability of insurer is spelled out qua the person or classes of persons specified in the policy that is qua insured under Sec. 147 (1) of the Act; and also qua claimant of compensation under Sec. 147 (2) and 149 (1) of Act – If an award is given against insured holding him liable to pay certain amount as compensation or damages in regard to claim arising out of an accident with his motor vehicle, then liability of insurer is absolute and insurer cannot question its liability on ground that amount is awarded on principle of no fault liability – Moment either it is admitted by the owner of vehicle that his vehicle is involved in accident or from evidence adduced on record, Tribunal positively holds that the vehicle of the owner in question was involved in that accident, then Tribunal without inquiring into correctness of other objections that may be raised by the Insurance company would be entitled to make the award under Sec. 140 and require insurance Company to pay specified amount to claimants forthwith and thereafter investigate and inquire into the correctness or otherwise of the other objections that are raised either by the Insurance Company or by owner of offending vehicle at the time of deciding main claim petition – It is clear that a summary trial is contemplated for making an award or order under sec. 140 of the Act – Therefore Tribunal was justified in not entertaining defence raised by petitioner when application under Sec. 140 of Act came to be decided. No jurisdictional error is committed by Tribunal necessitating interference of this Court with impugned order while exercising powers under Sec. 115 of Code of Civil Procedure – Revision Application fails.
( 1 ) THE order dated July 8, 1992 passed below Exh. 13 in m. A. C. P. No. 597 of 1991 by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Main), Kutch at Bhuj under Sec. 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ("the Act" for short) directing the petitioner and opponent Nos. 2 and 3 herein to pay an amount of rs. 12,000/- (Rupees twelve thousand) with interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of the application till realisation, is the subject-matter of challenge in the present Revision Application which is instituted under Sec. 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
( 2 ) THE opponent No. 1, i. e. , M. D. Notiyar is the original claimant in M. A. C. P. No. 597 of 1991. The accident in question took place on November 11, 1991. The claimant was travelling by Truck bearing registration No. GJ-12-T-5601 which is owned by opponent No. 3 herein and which was being driven at the relevant time by the opponent No. 2 herein. The case of the claimant is that because of rash and negligent driving of the Truck by the opponent No. 2, the Truck turned trutle, as a result of which he sustained several fractures and injuries and has suffered permanent disablement. Under the circumstances, by filing Claim Petition, the claimant has claimed compensation of Rs. 2,00,000. 00 (Rupees two lakhs ).
( 3 ) DURING the pendency of the Claim Petition, the claimant presented an application at Exh. 13 under Sec. 140 of the Act and prayed the Tribunal to direct the opponents to pay a sum of Rs. 12,000. 00 (Rupees twelve thousand) together with interest at the rate of 12% from the date of accident till realisation. The petitioner, i. e. , The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. contested the said application on the ground that the claimant was a passenger travelling in a goods vehicle without any goods and, therefore, Insurance Company was not liable to satisfy the claim made by the claimant under Sec. 140 of the Act.
( 4 ) AFTER hearing the parties, the Tribunal came to the conclusion that the defence that the claimant was a passenger travelling in a goods vehicle without any goods and, therefore, the Insurance Company was not liable to satisfy claim made under Sec. 140 of the Act, was not available to the Insurance Company in a proceeding under Sec. 140 of the Act. In that view of the conclusion, the Tribunal has ordered the petitioner and opponent Nos. 2 and 3 herein to pay a sum of Rs. 12,000. 00 with interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of application till realisation, giving rise to the present Revision Application.
( 5 ) THE submission of Mr. P. F. Makwana, learned Counsel for the petitioner to the effect that the claimant was travelling in a goods vehicle without any goods and, therefore, Insurance Company should not have been saddled with any liability under Sec. 140 of the Act, has no substance. Section 140 of the Act replaces old sec. 92a of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 and the only change introduced is that the amount of compensation for death and permanent disablement in the old section were respectively Rs. 15,000. 00 and Rs. 7,500. 00 which have now been raised to Rs. 25,000. 00 and Rs. 12,000. 00. Section 140 of the Act is a piece of beneficial and ameliorative legislation providing for immediate aid to the victims. In view of fast increasing volume of traffic, the motor vehicles upon the roads may be regarded to some extent as coming within the principle of liability defined in Raylands v. Fletcher, (1868) LR 3 HL 330 as roads of the country not only from the pedestrian point of view, but also from the passenger point of view have been rendered highly dangerous. In order to meet to some extent the responsibility of the Society to the deaths and injuries caused in road accidents, there was a continuous agitation throughout the nation to make the liability for damages arising out of motor vehicles as a liability without fault. In order to meet the above social demand on the recommendation of the Indian Law Commission, Chapter VI
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