JUDGMENT :

ABDUL QUDDHOSE, J.

Prayer: Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, against the judgment and decree in MCOP No. 762 of 2012, dated 21.04.2015, on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Principal District Court, Dharmapuri.

1. This appeal has been filed by the Insurance Company challenging the Award dated 21.04.2015 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Principal District Judge), Dharmapuri in MCOP No. 762 of 2012.

2. The Appellant Insurance Company has challenged the Award questioning its liability to pay the compensation as according to them, the deceased was a gratuitous passenger who was neither required to be covered under Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act nor covered by the policy of insurance.

3. In this appeal, the Appellant Insurance Company has not questioned the quantum of compensation awarded by the Tribunal but has only questioned its liability. Hence the only issue that needs to be adjudicated by this Court is whether the deceased was a gratuitous passenger or not and whether the Tribunal was right in directing the Appellant Insurance Company to pay the compensation to the dependants of the deceased who are the claimants in MCOP No. 762 of 2012.

4. Heard Mr. E. Rajadurai, learned counsel for the Appellant and Ms. Kanimozhimathi, learned counsel for the first respondent.

5. Learned counsel for the Appellant drew the attention of this Court to the FIR dated 16.03.2012 which has been marked as Ex.P1 before the Tribunal and would submit that PW-2 (Govindaraj) who was travelling along with the deceased Raman who had given a complaint after the accident based on which the FIR was registered has himself admitted that he along with the deceased Raman were travelling in a goods vehicle and were returning back after attending a marriage function of their relative on 16.03.2012 and were standing in the said vehicle when the accident had happened which resulted in the death of Raman.

6. Learned counsel for the Appellant would further submit that there is no statutory liability for the Insurance Company under Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act to pay compensation to the dependants of the deceased since the deceased was admittedly a gratuitous passenger at the time when the accident had happened.

7. He drew the attention of this Court to the contents of the FIR (Ex.P1) which is found in paragraph No. 11 of the impugned Award and would submit that when the FIR (Ex.P1) which has been registered only at the behest of PW-2, a co-traveller in the goods vehicle at the time of the accident, the Tribunal has erroneously by total non-application of mind has held that the Insurance Company is liable despite the admitted fact that when the accident had happened, there were no goods in the insured goods vehicle.

8. He would further submit that the pleadings in the claim petition contradicts the contents of the FIR as in the pleadings, the claimants have concocted a false story as if the deceased Raman was returning back with the goods after attending a marriage function of his relative but actually the deceased was a gratuitous passenger as at the time of the accident, the vehicle was empty.

9. Learned counsel for the Appellant would submit that it is settled law that in case of a gratuitous passenger, the Insurance Company is not liable to pay compensation under Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act. He would also submit that the policy of insurance which has been marked as Ex.P1 before the Tribunal also does not give coverage for a gratuitous passenger.

10. In support of his submissions, learned counsel for the Appellant drew the attention of this Court to the following Authorities:

(a) National Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Rattani and Others, 2009 ACJ 925

(b) Bharathi Axa General Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Aandi and Others, 2018 SCC Online Mad 13295

(c) Royal Sundaram Alliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. P. Ayyakannu and Others, (2009) 5 MLJ 707

(d) Branch Manager, United India Ins