ORIENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD Vs. JAYESHBHAI BHAGUBHAI PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) First Appeal No. 4114 of 2019 is preferred by Appellant- Insurance Company against the judgment and order passed by Learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Main), Valsad in Motor Accident Claim Peition No. 1446 of 2002 (Old No. 427/1999) mainly on the ground that the policy of the truck bearing registration No. MP-23-V-0662 is fake and Insurance Company is not liable to pay the amount of Rs.3,00,000.00 compensation with 8 % p.a interest to the claimants of First Appeal No 4114 0f 2009.

(2.) Brief facts of the case are as under:

(3.) The learned advocate for the Insurance Company Mr. Palak H Thakkar has raised only contention about the fake Policy of the truck. He has submitted that the policy which is produced on the record at Exhibit 78, is not issued by the Appellant - Insurance Company. He has further submitted that the in affidavit filed at Exhibit 30 by the officer of the Insurance Company - Shailendra Kumar, who was Senior Divisional Manager of the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, Jamshedpur, District East Singhbhum, officer has specifically averred that the policy No. 063005689, was never issued by its office. More particularly, in the affidavit, the said officer has indicated some glaring errors that the basic premium shown in the said policy is Rs.2870.00 but actually, the rate of premium in the relevant period was Rs.2779.00. He has also stated in the affidavit that in the policy, at the top, it is mentioned as "passenger carrying vehicle", though the vehicle is a truck, a commercial vehicle. Learned advocate Mr. Thakkar has further drawn attention of this Court to the deposition of UrmilaBen, at Exhibit 72, who is serving as Assistant Manager at Valsad office, where she has deposed that averments made in the affidavit at Exhibit 30, signed by the Shailendra Kumar, are true as, she is aware about the signature of the said officer-Sailendra Kumar. Learned advocate Mr. Thakkar has further drawn my attention towards the Policy at Exhibit 78 whereby he has tried to indicate that at the top of the Policy, mentioning of passenger carrying vehicle, creates suspicion about genuineness of Policy. He has also indicted that at the relevant point of time, policy from the Insurance Company was normally issued in handwritten manner whereas the present Policy is issued by using typewriter. Therefore, the Policy is fake one and on that count only, the Insurance Company is wrongly fastened the liability of the payment of compensation by the Tribunal and the Tribunal has erred in awarding the amount of compensation by holding the present appellant liable to pay the compensation therefore, he prays to allow the appeal as there is no liability of the Insurance Company, as no relationship with the insured and insurer is existing as per his submission.