NATIONAL INSURANCE CO LTD COIMBATURE REGIONAL OFFICE Vs. K NANDABALAN COMMISSIONER OF POLICE TIRUNELVELI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY order dated 22.10.2002 in W.P. No. 38991/2002 this Court directed the first respondent therein to consider the representation dated 3.7.2002, stated to have been sent by the petitioner to him, if not already considered and disposed of, within 30 days from the date of production of a copy of the order in the writ petition before the first respondent. Complaining that the first respondent has not complied with the direction referred to above and such failure has a direct impact on the pending proceedings namely, M.C.O.P. No. 1060/2001 on the file of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Fast Track Court No. 2), Tirunelveli, the Insurance Company is before this Court in this contempt petition. The contempt petition was admitted and notice was ordered. After service, the proceedings underwent a few adjournments. Ultimately, the representation dated 3.7.2002 of the petitioner had met with a written response from the respondent in the contempt petition, which reveal a startling state of affairs in making a claim in the pending motor accident claim case before the fast track court referred to above.

(2.) MR. N. Vijayaraghavan learned counsel for the petitioner would state that admittedly the response of the respondent in the contempt petition to the earlier order of this court is belated. But none-the-less, he would request this Court not to take serious note of that fact but to close the contempt petition. However, before closing the contempt proceeding, the learned counsel wanted this court to send a message to the Law Enforcing Agency in this State about the callous and indifferent manner in which the Law Enforcing Agency is treating the complaint/complaints already given/to be given by the Insurance Companies complaining of fabricated records, to make it appear as though a particular vehicle is involved in a road traffic accident, so as to bolster all false claims of such alleged victims. In support of his case, the learned would state that there is a racket going on in this State involving the handwork of a number of people from all fields, in fabricating the records at the police station level as well as at the hospital level and those records are used to give colour to a motor accident claim before various tribunals. According to him that whenever the Insurance Company, shown as the insurer of the vehicle in question, has reason to raise it's eyebrows and file a complaint before the concerned police, there appears to be either no response or only a lethargic response. This, according to the learned counsel, would amount to exposing various Insurance Companies to bogus claims before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, resulting in substantial monetary loss. In other words, according to the learned counsel, liability is fastened on the Insurance Company on fabricated records. A number of statements in the press are also produced before this court in and by which such a large scale on-going racket has been brought out. Learned counsel had also filed a tabular statement containing details of various cases pending before various claims tribunals filed against the Insurance Company in question, which according to him, are suspended to be on fabricated records.