Fraud in an insurance contract negates any liability of the insurer for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act.

1. This appeal, filed under S.173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, is directed against the award dated 15.7.2023 passed by the learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Anantnag (hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal') in the claim petition filed by the petitioners herein, thereby holding the respondent No. 1 (registered owner) and respondent No. 2 (attorney of respondent No. 1) jointly and severally liable for compensation to the tune of Rs.7,08,000, along with interest at 6 per cent per annum, from the date of filing of the claim petition, i.e., 9.4.2008, already awarded by the Tribunal vide order / award dated 9.6.2014.

2. The appellants, while claiming to be the legal heirs of deceased - Gh. Mohi - ud - Din Dar, who is stated to have expired on account of a road accident on 6.5.2007 after being hit by a speeding Maruti car bearing registration No. DL5CA - 2117 at Qaimoh, Tehsil and District Kulgam owned by respondent No. 1 herein and with reference to which F.I.R. No. 98/2007 was registered at Police Station, Kulgam for the commission of offences punishable under S.279, S.304 - A, 379 and 109 of the erstwhile Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), filed a claim petition before the Tribunal.

3. The said claim petition was disposed of by the Tribunal vide award dated 9.6.2014, holding the petitioners entitled to an amount of Rs.7,08,000, including interim relief, whereas, the respondent No. 3 - New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Srinagar was saddled with the liability to pay the compensation to the petitioners by depositing the amount within two months before the Tribunal, along with interest at 6 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition, i.e., 9.4.2008, till the amount is deposited.

4. The respondent Nos. 3 and 4 (insurance company), however, filed a review petition against the aforesaid award passed by the Tribunal, which came to be dismissed by the Tribunal vide order dated 10.9.2015 by holding that there is no mistake or error apparent on the face of the record which would warrant indulgence of the Tribunal by invoking the provisions of review.

5. The aforesaid order dated 10.9.2015 passed by the Tribunal in the review petition came to be called in question by the respondent Nos. 3 and 4 (insurance company) before this court by way of an appeal registered as CMAM No. 02/2018. The said appeal came to be disposed of by this court vide judgment dated 10.10.2018, whereby the appeal was allowed and the award dated 9.6.2014 as also the order dated 10.9.2015 passed by the learned Tribunal were set aside, and the matter was remanded to the learned Tribunal for determining the issue as to whether the policy on which the respondents acted and relied was or was not the outcome of a fraud and, if so, what shall be its effect.

6. The aforesaid judgment passed by this court came to be assailed by the appellants herein before the Supreme Court, by way of a special leave petition (SLP) seeking leave to appeal as against the aforesaid order / judgment dated 10.10.2018 passed by this court which was dismissed by the Apex Court vide order dated 13.7.2022, however, with a direction to the MACT (Tribunal), to which the matter had been remanded by this court, that it will make an effort to dispose of the matters at the earliest and at any date within a period of six months from the date of production of the copy of the order. It was also observed by the Apex Court that the MACT (Tribunal) will consider the matters untrammeled by any observations in the impugned orders, by the High C