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2014 Supreme(Tri) 116
IN THE HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA
Deepak Gupta, S.C. Das, JJ.
Sankar Chandra Das - Appellant
Versus
Sujit Saha and The National Insurance Company Ltd. - Respondent
MAC APP No. 10 of 2007
Decided On : 28-02-2014
For the Appellant :Mr. P. Roy Barman, Mr. S. Bhattacharji and Mr. K. Nath, Advocates
For the Respondents:Mr. D.K. Biswas and Mr. G.K. Nama, Advocates
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal must conduct inquiries in accordance with the principles of natural justice and continue with the inquiry as best as it can, even if the claimant fails to appear before the Tribunal or produce evidence.
Headnote:
Motor Accident Claims Tribunal - Motor Vehicles Act - 158(6), 165, 166, 168, 169, 170 - The court discussed the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, including the duties and powers of the Claims Tribunal, the procedure for filing a claim petition, the conduct of inquiries, and the admissibility of evidence. The court emphasized the need for inquiries to be conducted in accordance with the principles of natural justice and highlighted the guidelines provided by the Apex Court for initiating steps under section 166(4) of the Act. The court also addressed the issue of dismissing claim petitions in default and provided guidance on the Tribunal's role in such situations.
Fact of the Case:
The court addressed the question of the course of action the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal should follow when the claimant does not appear before the Tribunal or does not produce evidence. It referred to various provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and discussed the nature of inquiries conducted by the Tribunal.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the Tribunal must continue with the inquiry as best as it can and decide the matter on the basis of the evidence before it. It emphasized the need for inquiries to be conducted in consonance with the rules of natural justice and highlighted the guidelines provided by the Apex Court for initiating steps under section 166(4) of the Act. The court also addressed the issue of dismissing claim petitions in default and provided guidance on the Tribunal's role in such situations.
Issues: The issues addressed by the court included the duties and powers of the Claims Tribunal, the procedure for filing a claim petition, the conduct of inquiries, the admissibility of evidence, and the dismissal of claim petitions in default.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the Tribunal must continue with the inquiry as best as it can and decide the matter on the basis of the evidence before it. It emphasized the need for inquiries to be conducted in consonance with the rules of natural justice and provided guidance on the Tribunal's role in dismissing claim petitions in default.
Final Decision: The court concluded that the Tribunal must continue with the inquiry as best as it can and decide the matter on the basis of the evidence before it. It provided guidance on the Tribunal's role in dismissing claim petitions in default and emphasized the need for inquiries to be conducted in consonance with the rules of natural justice.
JUDGMENT
Deepak Gupta; C.J.:-The following question has been referred to the Division Bench for decision:-
What course of action the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal should follow when the claimant(s) does not appear before the Tribunal or does not take any step to produce evidence before the learned Tribunal?
Before dealing with the question, it would be appropriate to refer to certain provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act (hereinafter referred to as the M.V. Act).
2. Section 158(6) of the M.V. Act reads as follows:-
158(6). As soon as any information regarding any accident involving death or bodily injury to any person is recorded or report under this section is completed by a police officer, the officer in charge of the police station shall forward a copy of the same within thirty days from the date of recording of information or, as the case may be, on completion of such report to the Claims Tribunal having jurisdiction and a copy thereof to the concerned insurer, and where a copy is made available to the owner, he shall also within thirty days of receipt of such report, forward the same to such Claims Tribunal and Insurer.
3. Section 158(6) of the M.V. Act requires the Police Officer to give information to the Claims Tribunal having jurisdiction of the area about an accident having taken place and along with this information in the shape of FIR, the Police Officer shall also submit other documents submitted by the owner.
4. Claims Tribunals are constituted under section 165 of the M.V. Act, 1988 and applications for compensation have to be filed in terms of section 166 of the M.V. Act. Sub-section (4) of section 166 also empowers the Claims Tribunal to treat any report of an accident forwarded to it under section 158(6) as an application for compensation under the Act.
5. Section 166(2) gives an option to the claimant to file a claim petition either before the Claims Tribunal having jurisdiction over the area in which the accident occurred, or before the Claims Tribunal within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the claimant resides or carries on business or before the Claims Tribunal within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the defendant resides. Thus, unlike the provisions relating to civil suits, a claim petition can also be filed at the place where the claimant himself resides. To give an example, if a person who is an ordinary resident of Agartala has gone on a holiday to Himachal Pradesh and meets with an accident there, he has the option of filing the claim petition either at Agartala or before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Himachal Pradesh having jurisdiction over the area where the accident occurred.
6. Section 168 of the M.V. Act provides that the Claims Tribunal after giving notice of the application to the insurer and giving the parties (including the insurer) an opportunity of being heard, shall hold an inquiry into the claims and make an award determining the just amount of compensation.
7. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, the Evidence Act etc. are not strictly applicable to inquiries conducted by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal and only those provisions will be attracted which have been made applicable in terms of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules or the Motor Vehicles Rules of the State. The Claims Tribunal may devise its own procedure while holding the inquiry, but that procedure must be in consonance with the rules of natural justice. Though the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure do not apply to such an inquiry, the principles behind the Code will be attracted even in inquiries under section 168 of the M.V. Act. Even with regard to the Evidence Act though the strict rules of proof of evidence may not apply, the Tribunal cannot admit in evidence scraps of paper which have no evidentiary value whatsoever. Therefore, this Court has held that photostat copies are not per se admissible unless the original is shown to the Court.
8. To prove an FIR in an inquiry under section 168 of the
