ORIENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, RAIPUR THROUGH ITS BRANCH MANAGER, DHAMTARI, CHHATTISGARH Vs. SWATANTRA KUMAR VERMA, SON OF BINDA PRASAD VERMA, AGED 49 YEARS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant two appeals are being disposed of by the following common judgment since the issues involved therein are common.

(2.) These two appeals one by the insurance company and one by the claimants are directed against the award dated 7.7.2005 passed by the First Additional Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Kanker, District Kanker in Claim Case No.104 of 2003, whereby the Claims Tribunal partly allowed the claim petition of the claimants filed under Sec. 163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (henceforth 'the Act') and awarded sum of Rs. 2,52,000.00 in favour of the claimants.

(3.) Three grounds have been raised by the insurance company. Firstly, that the claim petition under Sec. 163-A of the Act was not maintainable in view of the fact that the claimants themselves in the claim petition claimed that the income of the deceased was more than Rs. 40,000.00 per annum. The second ground is that the claimants had filed earlier a claim petition under Sec. 166 of the Act. Though they withdrew that petition with liberty to file a fresh one, but instead of filing it under Sec. 166 of the Act, they filed the fresh petition under Sec. 163-A of the Act and while filing the second petition they did not attach a copy of the order passed in the previous round of litigation nor they apprised the Tribunal of the fact that the earlier petition had been withdrawn. The last submission is that as per the terms of the policy of insurance is an act only policy and therefore the insurer is not liable since the deceased was an occupant of a jeep and the insurance policy does not cover liability of a passenger travelling in the jeep.