The main legal point established in the judgment is the deemed transfer of insurance policy under Section 157(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the continued liability of the insurer despite the change in ownership.

JUDGMENT :

NIRMALJIT KAUR, J.

1. The present appeal is filed against the award dated 14.10.2014 granting compensation with a prayer to set aside the said award.

2. As per the brief facts, respondent No.2 filed a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short, 'the 1988 Act') for grant of compensation on account of accidental injuries sustained by him in a motor vehicular accident alleging therein rash and negligent driving of driver of offending vehicle Mahindra Jeep No.RJ-27U-/0472 on 30.01.2013 in the area of village Mehrana. The claim petition was partly allowed and the appellant was held liable to pay compensation to respondent No.2 whereas respondent No.1-Insurance Company was exonerated from paying any compensation as it was observed that the registered owner at the time of the accident had not been impleaded as a party to the claim petition, therefore, the driver was held liable to pay the compensation to claimant/respondent No.2.

3. It may be clarified that the driver Bhup Singh was also the registered owner but purchased the car after the date of accident.

4. While praying for setting aside the said award, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the Tribunal has gone totally wrong with respect to the liability of the appellant to pay compensation to the claimant as the insurer-Company is liable to answer the claim of the third party by virtue of the provisions of Section 157(1) of the 1988 Act. To support his argument, reliance was placed on the judgment rendered in the case of J.S.Choudhary vs Ritu Devi and others, (2013) ACJ 944. Secondly, since there was no dispute regarding the ownership of the offending vehicle, which the appellant admitted was purchased by him, there was no need to implead the registered owner as a party. The registered owner at the time of the accident was not a necessary party especially when the insurance policy itself stood transferred to the subsequent owner.

5. Learned counsel for the respondent while vehemently opposing the appeal submitted that the accident took place on 30.1.2013. The registered owner at that point of time was S.P.Udaipur in his official capacity, whereas, the application for transfer of the vehicle in the name of the present appellant was filed on 27.02.2013, i.e. almost 27 days of the accident and the claim petition was filed on 4.4.2013. Since, the Insurance Company is liable to indemnify only the registered owner of the vehicle at the time of the accident, it was necessary to implead the said owner as a party and in the absence of impleading the said registered owner of the car at the time of the accident, the Insurance Company is not liable.

6. Learned counsel for the appellant also referred to Section 157 of the 1988 Act to contend that the policy was deemed to have been transferred in favour of the person to whom the motor vehicle was transferred and, therefore, the only objection that could have been raised under Section 149(2)(b) is not available to the insurer. It is further contended that in the absence of any objection with respect to the impleadment of the necessary party in the written statement, the said objection could not be raised subsequently.

7. Learned counsel for the parties are heard at length.

8. For proper adjudication, it is necessary to reproduce Section 157(1) of the 1988 Act, which reads as under:-

"157(1). Transfer of certificate of insurance.-(1) Where a person in whose favour the certificate of insurance has been issued in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter transfers to another person the ownership of the motor vehicle in respect of which such insurance was taken together with the policy of insurance relating thereto, the certificate of insurance and the policy described in the certificate shall be deemed to have been transferred in favour of the person to whom the motor vehicle is transferred with effect from the date of its transfer."

9. A perusal of Section 157(1) of the 1988 Act shows that transf