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2026 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 33525
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Murali Purushothaman, J
Raji Rajeevan – Appellant
Versus
Pushpan – Respondent
OP (MAC) NO. 21 OF 2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: V. Vijitha
For the Respondents: K. Rakesh, P.K Manojkumar
The High Court may grant a debtor the benefit of discharging a liability through installments in revenue recovery proceedings to balance the interests of the claimant and the affected party.
Headnote:The matter pertains to a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal award where the owner of a vehicle sought to set aside an ex-parte award and challenged a subsequent revenue recovery notice. The primary underlying dispute concerns the liability for a motor accident and the subsequent recovery of compensation from the registered owner despite claims of vehicle transfer. The court addressed the issue of whether the petitioner could be granted an installment-based repayment scheme for the recovery of the award amount. The court determined that in light of ongoing mediation and the submissions of the parties, allowing payment in installments constitutes a fair resolution to facilitate recovery while protecting the petitioner's interest. The original petition is disposed of.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. overview of the background regarding the challenged tribunal award and the sought-after relief. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. granting relief to a party by allowing installment payments to discharge recovery obligations. (Para 6 , 7 , 8) |
JUDGMENT
The petitioner is the 2nd respondent in OP(MV)
No.929 of 2004 on the files of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Alappuzha. The 1st respondent the said original petition claiming compensation for the injuries sustained by him in an accident involving the petitioner’s vehicle. The Tribunal by Ext.P2 ex-parte award found that the driver of the vehicle has caused the accident and awarded an amount of Rs.1,07,902/- with 9% interest per annum from the date of petition till realisation. The Tribunal found that there was violation of conditions of policy and the insurer was directed to pay the amount at the first instance and reserved the right of the insurer to recover the amount from the petitioner, the registered owner of the vehicle.
2. The petitioner contends that she was not the registered owner of the vehicle at the time of the accident and she had transferred the vehicle to the 4th respondent.
3. The petitioner filed I.A No.4 of 2022 before the Tribunal seeking to set aside the ex-parte award along with I.A No.2 of 2022 for condonation of delay in filing the said application. The petitioner states that she came to know about the award only on receipt of Ext.P4 recovery notice by which an amount of Rs.1,87,534/- has been demanded pursuant to Ext.P2 award.
4. The petitioner has filed this original petition for a direction to the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Alappuzha to dispose of the above interlocutory applications within a time frame.
5. This Court, by order dated 12.02.2026, stayed further proceedings pursuant to Ext.P4 for a period of one month on condition that the petitioner deposits an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- within one month.
6. When the matter came up for consideration today, it is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner has not deposited the said amount since mediation talks are going on with the insurance company.
7. The learned counsel for the Insurance Company submits that the petitioner can be permitted to pay the amount in Ext.P1 in installments.
8. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner will pay the amount demanded in Ext.P4 in eight equal monthly installments.
8. In the facts and circumstances of the case, there will be a direction to the petitioner to pay Rs.50,000/- on or before 15.06.2026 and to pay the balance amount covered by Ext.P4 with accrued interest and 1% service charge due under the Revenue Recovery Act in eight equal monthly installments commencing from 15.07.2026. If the petitioner defaults payment of any of the installments referred above, it will be open to the 3rd respondent and the revenue authorities to proceed against the petitioner in accordance with law. In order to facilitate the payment of the said amount in installments, further proceedings pursuant to Ext.P4 shall be kept in abeyance.
The original petition is disposed of.
