ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO. LTD., DO-10 THROUGH ITS REGIONAL OFFICE LEO SHOPPING COMPLEX - 44/45, RESIDENCY ROAD BANGALORE 560025 REP. BY ITS MANAGER SRI K. VARADARAJAN Vs. SMT. VELLIYAMMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Insurance Company has preferred this appeal against the judgment and award dated 21.2.2007 passed in MVC No. 987/2005 by the MACT, Bangalore holding that the injury sustained which resulted in death was caused on account of the motor vehicle accident and consequently, the claimants are entitled for compensation under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ['M.V. Act' for short]. For the purpose of convenience, the parties in this appeal would be referred to by their rankings as they are arrayed in the claim petition before the Tribunal.

(2.) THE claimant No. 1 is the widow and the claimant Nos. 2 and 3 are the minor children of deceased Cheluvaraju @ Thamara Cheluva, who died on 14.4.2004 at Bangalore.

(3.) AFTER service of notice, the owner of the bus did not appear and therefore, he was placed exparte. The respondent No. 2 -Insurance Company contested the claim. It specifically pleaded in the written statement that the death of Cheluva did not occur in a road traffic accident, but he was murdered. The jurisdictional police have registered a case in FIR No. 99/2004 under Section 302 r/w Section 34 of IPC. The cause of death has been mentioned in the post mortem report. It further stated that there is no involvement of the vehicle in the accident as alleged by the petitioners. However, it admitted the issuance of the insurance policy in respect of the bus in question. In fact, it sought permission to contest the claim under Section 170 of the M.V. Act.