National Insurance Company Limited vs Ramkali Bai Rajpoot and Others

G.D. Saxena, J.—Appellant/Insurance Company has filed this appeal u/s 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the interim award dated 16th April, 2004 passed by Second Additional Member, of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Guna in Claim Case No. 33/2002; whereby learned Claims Tribunal directing to pay amount of no fault liability against the appellant and in favour of respondents No. 1 to 5 herein. It is contended that the tractor involved in the accident was purchased by the deceased from respondent No. 6 and was being driven under the cover of policy issued by the appellant/insurance company in favour of the owner who died in the accident. No criminal case was registered. The claim petition u/s 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 was filed for compensation for the death caused in the accident on behalf of heirs of the deceased and during the trial by order dated 16th April, 2004, the Claims Tribunal passed the interim award of Rs. 50,000/- on the basis of no fault liability against the appellant-Insurance Company and in compliance of the aforesaid interim award, the Insurance Company has deposited Rs. 25,000/- with the Claims Tribunal, which is the mandatory requirement of Section 173 of the Act and the aforesaid amount has already been withdrawn by the respondents No. 1 to 5/claimants.

The contention of learned counsel for the appellant/Insurance Company is that the tractor involved in the accident was insured by the deceased with the Insurance Company. The policy does not cover the risk of the deceased, therefore, there is no question for payment of the amount to the claimants and the petitioner itself was not maintainable.

Learned counsel for the respondent No. 6 also admitted that the respondent No. 6 is the seller of the tractor and therefore, in the eyes of law, he is not responsible to pay the compensation to the heirs of the deceased.

Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the impugned award and record of Claims Tribunal

The question for determination in this appeal is whether the insurance company is liable to pay the interim compensation to the claimants of the deceased, who is admittedly owner of the vehicle.

Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 reads as under:-

Liability to pay compensation in certain cases on the principle of no fault.-(1) Where death or permanent disablement of any person has resulted from an accident arising out of the use of a motor vehicle or motor vehicles, the owner of the vehicle shall, or, as the case may be, the owners of the vehicles shall, jointly and severally, be liable to pay compensation in respect of such death or disablement in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) The amount of compensation which shall be payable under sub-section (1) in respect of the death of any person shall be a fixed sum of [fifty thousand rupees] and the amount of compensation payable under that subsection in respect of the permanent disablement of any person shall be a fixed sum of [twenty-five thousand rupees].

(3) In any claim for compensation under sub-section (1), the claimant shall not be required to plead any establish that the death or permanent disablement in respect of which the claim has been made was due to any wrongful act, neglect or default of the owner or owners of the vehicle or vehicles concerned or of any other person.

(4) A claim for compensation under sub-section (1) shall not be defeated by reason of any wrongful act, neglect or default of the person in respect of whose death or permanent disablement the claim has been made nor shall the quantum of compensation recoverable in respect of such death or permanent disablement be reduced on the basis of the share of such person in the responsibility for such death or permanent disablement.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) regarding death or bodily injury to any person, for which the owner of the vehicle is liable to give compensation for relief, he is also liable to pay compensation under any other law for the time being in force:

Provided that the amount of such compensation to be given under any other law shall be reduced from the amount of compensation payable under this Section or u/s 163A.

On perusal of the provisions of Section 140 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as quoted above, it is clear that the insurance company is not liable to pay the compensation either as no fault liability or full and final liability u/s 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 on a case where the deceased is the owner of the vehicle. Hence, this appeal is allowed and the impugned award dated 16/4/2004 passed by learned Claims Tribunal is hereby set aside with a short direction to the learned Claims Tribunal to decide the matter finally as well as the question of liability, after hearing both the parties. The parties are directed to appear before the Claims Tribunal on 23rd September, 2013.

The record of Claims Tribunal be sent back immediately. Appeal stands allowed and disposed of with the aforesaid.