BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 11.12.2025 CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE G.K.ILANTHIRAIYAN AND THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE N.MALA C.M.A(MD)No.7 of 2025 and C.M.P(MD)Nos.119 & 5619 of 2025 The General Manager, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Limited, Railway Station New Road, Kumbakonam (Po), Thanjavur District.

... Appellant/Respondent Vs.

1.K.Santhi

2.Karthick Raja

3.Ramanathan ... Respondents 1 to 3/

Petitioners 1 to 3 PRAYER:- Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, to set aside the Judgment and Decree of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Special District Court, Tiruchirappalli made in M.C.O.P.No.445 of 2022, dated 01.12.2023 and allow the appeal with costs.

For Appellant : Mr.S.Micheal Heldon Kumar For Respondents : Mr.P.Prabhakaran

JUDGMENT

(Judgment of the Court was delivered by G.K.ILANTHIRAIYAN, J.)

This Civil Miscellaneous Appeal has been preferred as against the award passed in M.C.O.P.No.445 of 2022, dated 01.12.2023 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Special District Court, Tiruchirappalli.

2.The respondents are the claimants and the appellant is the sole respondent in the claim petition.

3.On 08.01.2022 at about 07.30 a.m., the deceased was travelling as a pillion rider in a Motorcycle bearing Registration No.TN-81-X-2822, which was driven by one Nandhakumar and proceeding from east to west at Thanjavur – Trichy Highway Road near Ariyamangalam SIT Polytechnic, Trichy. At the time, a private passenger bus bearing Registration No.TN-68-0928 was driven by its driver in a rash and negligent manner in the same direction ie., east to west and dashed against the rear side of the two wheeler. Therefore, the rider of the motorcycle-Nanthakumar and pillion rider-Kumar sustained grievous injuries. The deceased Kumar was taken to the Government Hospital, Trichy and admitted as an inpatient from 08.01.2022 to 16.01.2022 and later succumbed to the injuries sustained in the accident. The post-mortem report also confirmed that his death was due to the injuries sustained during the accident. On the complaint, F.I.R was registered in Crime No.9 of 2022 for the offences under Sections 279, 337 IPC @ 304 of IPC on the file of the Trichy Traffic South Investigation Wing Police, Trichy. The respondents, being the legal heirs of the deceased, filed the claim petition.

4.In support of the claim petition, PW1 and PW2 were examined and Exs.P1 to P3 were marked. On the side of the respondents, RW1 and RW2 were examined and Exs.X1 and X4 were marked.

5.On perusal of the oral and documentary evidence, the Tribunal concluded that the accident occurred due to the composite negligence of both the drivers of the vehicles and awarded compensation. Since the claimants failed to implead the insurer of the two wheeler and the rider of the two wheeler, the Tribunal directed the appellant to pay the entire compensation and permitted to recover the entire compensation by way of filing a suit as against the owner and the insurer of the two wheeler. Aggrieved by the same, the present Appeal has been filed.

6.The learned counsel appearing for the appellant submitted that when the Tribunal concluded that the accident itself occurred due to the composite negligence of both the drivers ie., two wheeler as well as bus, the Tribunal ought not to have directed the appellant to pay the entire compensation. The respondents failed to array the insurer of two wheeler and the rider of the motorcycle as respondents in the claim petition. Therefore, the claim petition itself is liable to be dismissed for the sole ground of non-joinder of necessary parties.

7.In fact, the F.I.R has been registered as against the rider of the motorcycle and also charge-sheeted. Therefore, the entire liability ought to have been fastened on the rider of the motorcycle. When the Tribunal concluded that the accident occurred due to composite negligence on the part of both the drivers, it ought not to have ordered p