The main legal point established in the judgment is that a murder can be considered an accident under the Motor Vehicles Act if it is incidental to the act of felony, and the appeal filed by the Insurance Company was not maintainable as it did not obtain leave from the Tribunal before filing the appeal.

1. One Dasarath Singh was a driver of an auto rickshaw owned by Lalit Singh. The vehicle in question was registered as a public carrier vehicle used for hire by the passengers. This vehicle was insured with the respondent.insurance company. On 22nd of March, 1995, it is stated that some unknown passengers hired the above auto rickshaw from rickshaw stand at Dim apur between 5 to 6 p.m. It is also not in dispute that the said auto rickshaw was reported stolen and the dead body of driver Dasarath Singh was recovered by the police on the next day, the auto rickshaw was never recovered and the claim of the owner for the loss of auto rickshaw was accepted by the respondent.Insurance Company and a sum of Rs. 47,220/. was settled by the said company towards the loss suffered by the owner.

2. One Darshan Sigh claiming to be a Power of Attorney holder of the present appellants filed a claim petition along with the present appellants under S.163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short the Act') claiming damages for the death caused to the deceased Dasarath Singh during the course of his employment under Lalit Singh was a death caused in an accident arising out of the use of vehicle. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Nagaland as per its judgment dated 24th of June, 1996 came to the conclusion that the death of the driver of the auto rickshaw (Dasarath Singh) was caused by an accident coming within the purview of the Motor Vehicles Act, therefore, held that the owner of the vehicle was liable to compensate the death of the driver in money value. Since there was an agreement between the vehicle owner and the respondent .Insurance Company to compensate the employer of the vehicle, said legal and statutory liability stood fastened on the respondent . Insurance Company. The Tribunal also held that the quantum of claim of the claimants stood established and consequently it awarded a sum of Rs. 2,81,500/. against the Insurance Company with interest @ 12% on the amount awarded from the date of application till payment.

3. The Insurance Company preferred an appeal by itself before the Gauhati High Court (Kohima Bench) in M.A.(F) No. 8 (K) 96. The High Court by its judgment dated 9.3.1998 came to the conclusion that there was no motor accident as contemplated under the Act. The High Court further held that the case in hand was a case of murder and not of an accident, hence a petition for claim under the provisions of the Act did not arise. The High Court, accordingly, allowed the appeal and set aside the judgment and the award made by the Tribunal.

4. Originally, the above mentioned Power of Attorney holder had preferred the above appeal making the wife and children of the deceased as proforma respondents along with the other respondent. By an order of this Court dated 18th of February, 2000, this Court felt that to protect the interest of the heirs of the deceased the wife and children of the deceased should be first impleaded as appellants to this appeal and the cause.title be amended, which having been done and notice being issued, the respondent. Insurance Company is represented before us.

5. We have heard the parties. Leave granted.

6. On behalf of the appellants, Shri. Anurabh Chowdhury contends that the deceased was employed to drive the auto rickshaw for ferrying passengers on hire and on the fateful day the auto rickshaw was parked at the rickshaw stand at Dimapur and at about 5 to 6 pm. Some unknown passengers had engaged the said auto rickshaw for their journey towards Singrijan area and thereafter nothing was known of the driver or rickshaw. It is only on the next day that the authorities were able to recover the body of the deceased and the auto rickshaw in question was never traced till date. The owner of the auto rickshaw has, therefore, been compensated by the Insurance Company for the loss of the said auto rickshaw, therefore, the murder of the deceased Dasarath Singh squarely comes within the word 'death' due to acc