The finality of involvement of the vehicle before awarding compensation rests only in the hands of the tribunal.

K.Kannan, J.

1. I. The cases, parties and their versions

The Insurance Company which denies the accident is in appeal before this Court. The appeal by the Insurance Company is in FAO No.3448 of 2006 and the claim for enhancement of award is in FAO No.3143 of 2006.

(a) Claimants version

2. The representatives of the deceased Malvinder Singh filed the case contending that Malvinder Singh, who was a Lambardar, was going in his scooter on 01.04.2003 when Toyata Qualis vehicle owned by the 2nd respondent, hit against the deceased that resulted in his death. The complaint which had been given on the same day on the basis of which, FIR had been recorded made reference merely to an unknown vehicle as having caused the accident and requested the police to undertake the investigation. An additional statement was said to have been taken on 18.06.2003 on the basis of which the driver was arrested and the vehicle was seized. The registration of the complaint by police against the insureds vehicle was taken as the basis for proving that the vehicle had been involved.

(b) Evidence tendered

3. At the trial, the evidence had been given through witnesses amongst whom one Kuldip Singh was said to be an eye-witness. The eye-witness version was said to be corroborated by an alleged extra judicial confession by the driver of the vehicle to one Gur- charan Singh that he was involved in an accident by collision with the scooter that resulted in the death of a person. The inspector, who had registered a complaint and who had prepared the Section 173 report, was also examined.

(c) Insurers defence

4. The Insurance Company had the benefit of defence under Section 170 to contest the case on all grounds. The contention of the learned counsel for the insurer was that the vehicle had not been involved at all and the Tribunals finding must be based on what evidence is tendered before it and a mere registration of a case on suspicion cannot be taken as proof of the involvement of a particular vehicle in the accident. The learned counsel for the claimants however would rely on the fact that even an acquittal by a Criminal Court finding that the vehicle had not been involved, cannot be material for a Tribunal and refers to a judgment of this Court in Pepsu Road Transport Corporation, Patiala v. Joginder Kaur, (2001-2)128 P.L.R. 685. The Tribunal found that the accident involving the insureds vehicle had been proved and granted the compensation.

II. Relevance of Criminal Court records, statements and judgment before Tribunal

(a) Conviction or acquittal, how far relevant

5. The relevance of a Criminal Courts judgment in the proceeding before Motor Vehicles Act have been considered in several judgments as a proposition of law. It could be stated that where after a criminal trial, Criminal Court convicts the driver for rash and negligent driving, the judgment of the Criminal Court has been takea as relevant evidence that the particular vehicle was involved in the accident and that the driver was guilty of rashness and negligence. On the other hand, if there is an acquittal by a Criminal Court, it can neither prove absence of rashness or negligence nor can it prove the non-involvement of the vehicle in proceedings before a Tribunal. In such a situation, the Tribunals endeavour must be to examine the evidence tendered before it and see whether a case as contended by the claimant is made out or not.

(b) Statement, if collusive, how established

6. Filing of written statement admitting to an accident and/or conviction in a Criminal Court on confession are other situations which will have important bearing to a claimant in a case and they could be relied on by the claimant as proof of the involvement of the vehicle against the driver and the owner. The same statement cannot be used as binding on an insurer, where the insurer contends that there has been a collusion between the claimant and the owner and driver. The reason for this is obvious, for, when a collusio