Point of Law: Appellants urged that Section 100A of Civil Procedure Code does not use expression 'award' and only restriction to further appeal is from Judgment, decree or order in an appeal from appellate or original decree - They would submit that 'Judgment', 'decree' and 'order' defined under Code of Civil Procedure under Sections 2(2) and 2(14) respectively do not cover 'award' passed by Tribunal under Section 168 of Motor Vehicles Act and Section 100A does not take away right of further appeal from decision in appeal by Single Judge against award.

JUDGMENT :

MEHTA, J.

1. These two intra-court appeals have been preferred under Section 134 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949 against the common judgment dated 15.02.2021 whereby, the learned Single Bench of this Court decided Civil Misc. Appeals Nos.2526/2017 and 1367/2017 preferred by the claimants and the Insurance Company respectively.

2. At the outset, this Court posed a question regarding maintainability of these appeals upon which, Shri G.J. Gupta, learned counsel representing the appellants, drew our attention to the Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Smt. Prabha Ojha & Ors. reported in 2012(1) WLN 459 (Raj.) and urged that the issue regarding maintainability of an intra-court appeal against the judgment passed by a Single Bench in an appeal against the judgment and decree of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has been affirmative answered, while upholding maintainability of such appeal. He thus urged that the appeals are maintainable.

3. We have heard and considered the submissions advanced by Shri Gupta on the aspect of maintainability of these appeals and have given respectful consideration to the Division Bench judgment cited at bar and have considered the relevant statutory provisions.

4. The issue regarding maintainability of an intra-court appeal in these very circumstances came to be considered by a Division Bench of this Court in the case of RSRTC & Ors. v. Vaibhav Kumar & Ors. reported in AIR 2007 Raj 147 wherein, the precise question involved was regarding the right of maintaining an intra-court appeal from the judgment/order of the Single Judge passed in appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 or whether such right was taken away by Section 100-A of the Civil Procedure Code amended vide Act 22 of 2002. After deliberating upon the controversy, the Division Bench of this Court concluded that the issue was no longer res integra in view of the Supreme Court decision in case of Kamal Kumar Dutta & Anr. v. Ruby General Hospital Ltd. & Ors. reported in 2006 AIR SCW 4594 and observed:-

“23. The legal position exposited by the Supreme Court in Kamal Kumar Dutta 2006 AIR SCW 4594, applies on all fours to the order/award passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal under Section 168 of the Motor Vehicles Act and where such order/award is carried in an appeal under Section 173 of that Act. Even if it be assumed that the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal is not a Court as is the term ordinarily understood, it is beyond doubt that such Tribunal has all the trapping of a Court. Though the Tribunals occupy a special position of their own under the scheme of the Courts and Tribunals and special matters and questions are entrusted to them for their decision yet they share with the Courts one common characteristic viz.; both the Courts as well as Tribunals are constituted by the State and are invested with judicial functions as distinguished from purely administrative or executive functions. It is the State's inherent judicial power which is discharged by the Courts and Tribunals. If the Company Law Board constituted under the Companies Act in its adjudicatory powers has the trappings of a Court and an appeal under Section 10F of the Companies Act from its order to the Single Judge is not amenable to further appeal (Letters Patent) to the Division Bench of the same Court because of Section 100A of the Code of Civil Procedure, a fortiori, an order passed by the Single Judge in appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act from the order/ award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal shall not be subject to intra- Court appeal in view of the bar created by Section 100A of the Code of Civil Procedure effective from 1st July, 2002.

24. In Kamal Kumar Dutta 2006 AIR SCW 4594 (supra), the Supreme Court noticed the Full Bench decisions of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and Kerala High Court in Gandla Pannal Bhulaxml AIR 2003 AP 458 and Kesava Pillai Sreedharan