(1.) Challenge in this petition under Article 226 /227 of the Constitution of India is to the order dtd. 25/7/2018 passed in Motor Accident Claim Petition No. 1273 of 1998 (claim petition) by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Auxiliary), Godhra (the Tribunal), whereby, the claim petition came to be dismissed.
(2.) Heard, learned advocate Mr. Nishit Bhalodi for the petitioner. It is submitted that the petitioner - claimant had preferred the claim petition before the learned Tribunal seeking compensation for the injuries sustained by the minor claimant, in the year 1998, in which, Issues came to be framed almost after 20 years. Further, the claim petition was dismissed qua opponent Nos. 1 and 2 i.e. the driver and the owner of the offending vehicle by an order dtd. 12/3/2018 for want of service and thereafter, without giving any opportunity to the claimant, by the order impugned, dismissed the claim petition qua the opponent No. 3 - insurance company on the ground that in the absence of the owner of the vehicle, the insurance company cannot be held responsible. It is submitted that the matter remained sine die for a long period and thereafter, Issues came to be framed, as aforesaid, and the claim petition, thereafter, came to be dismissed. He submitted that the learned Tribunal could have given an opportunity to the petitioner - claimant to at least put forward his case and it ought to have adopted a magnanimous approach.
(3.) It is unfortunate that Issues were framed in a case of minor claimant after a period of 20 years, to be more precise, in a claim petition, which was filed in the year 1998, the Issues at exh. 11 were framed on 12/3/2018 by the Tribunal. For such a long period, the matter had remained sine die, without any progress from the side of the Tribunal and then, within a period of four months after framing of Issues, on 25/7/2018, the Tribunal dismissed the claim petition. The matter came to be dismissed on the ground that on 12/3/2018, the claim petition was dismissed against opponent Nos. 1 and 2 i.e. the driver and other owner of the offending vehicle and that no submission was put forth on behalf of the claimant that he had ever challenged the said order dtd. 12/3/2018 and that, in the absence of the owner of the offending vehicle, the learned Tribunal has come to the conclusion that the insurance company cannot be held responsible to pay the compensation to the claimant and hence, the claim petition came to be dismissed.