SEENA Vs. UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition for dispensing with the production of the certified copy of the award of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal in O. P. (MV) No. 1980 of 1996 against which the appeal is sought to be filed. The contention of the petitioners is that some other persons, who were claimants in O. P.(MV) 1979 of 1996 another independent application which was jointly tried with their claim, have filed an appeal and therein they have produced a certified copy of the award in O. P. (MV) No. 1979 of 1996. What is argued is that it is a common award in the three claims and hence the production of the certified copy of the award in this appeal may be dispensed with. We cannot agree with this submission. The three are independent claims, even though they might relate to or arise out of the same incident or accident. When there are three distinct claims, the claimants if aggrieved by the award in their respective claims have to file separate appeals. If the appellants want to challenge the award in their application O. P. (MV) No. 1980 of 1996, they have to convince this Court that they have filed an application and have obtained a certified copy of the award in time, so as to enable this Court to see whether their appeal is filed in time. R.396(2) of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules also provides that a memorandum of appeal under S.173 of the Act has to be accompanied by a copy of the Award appealed against. There is no specific provision in the Motor Vehicles Act or the Motor Vehicles Rules which confers a specific power on the appellate court to dispense with production of the certified copy of the Award appealed against. In that situation the principle reiterated in P.A. Oommen v. Moran Bar Baselius Marthoma ( AIR 1992 SC 1977 ) will also govern appeal under the Motor Vehicles Act. Even if O.41 R.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure were to be invoked, that may at best enable a party who is appealing against a decree, to seek dispensing with the production of a judgment which is common to that appeal and to other appeals. But in the case of an award of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, no separate decree is being to be drawn up. In such a situation, a claimant who has not even applied for a certified copy of the award, cannot file an appeal taking advantage of the filing of an appeal by someone else challenging the award made in his favour or against him in his claim. In that situation, there is no question of acceding to the prayer in this petition to dispense with the production of the certified copy of the award. The petitioners have to produce the certified copy of the award on their claim, if they want to maintain the appeal against the decision on that claim. Hence this petition is dismissed.