RAJENDRA Vs. KALAWATI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard.

(2.) By means of this appeal, the appellant-owner of the offending motor vehicle bearing Registration No: MH-31 H: 8203 challenges the interim award which was passed under section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1966 ( in short "the said Act") on the ground that the learned Member of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Nagpur (in short "the Tribunal") wrongly exonerated the Insurer Company from joint liability to pay compensation in the sum of Rs. 50,000/- on the basis of "no fault liability". Mr. S.S. Deshpande, learned Advocate for the appellant invited my attention to copy of the insurance policy and pointed out that alleged offending motor vehicle MH-31 H : 8203 was insured with Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, for the validity period covering the date of accident. According to him, the period of insurance was from 12.6.2007 to 17.6.2008 and the accident had occurred on 13.6.2007 at 16.30 hours. That being so, prima facie, insurer and owner of the vehicle were jointly and severally responsible to pay the interim compensation in the sum of Rs. 50,000/-awarded by the learned Member of the Tribunal, Nagpur. The question as to whether the insured had played fraud as alleged, with insurer will have to have to be gone into at the time of recording of the evidence in the main petition, under section 166 of the said Act. At the stage of proceedings under section 140 of the Act, the liability of the owner and insurer as mentioned in Chapter X of the Act, is an absolute liability without fault and owner as well as insurer and/or Driver are jointly and severally liable to pay fixed compensation to the claimants/dependents of victim in respect of the fatal accident, at interim stage, in the sum of Rs. 50,000/-. It is well-known that in such a proceeding at interim stage, the claimant need not plead and prove the neglect, default of the owner or of any other person. Once it is shown that the accident arose out of use of the motor vehicle in question which resulted into death of the victim, the claim against owner or insurer of the vehicle is required to be allowed in order to provide expeditious provisional help to the dependents/claimants of the victim. In view of this legal position, the learned Member of the Tribunal ought to have held the insurer, the owner/driver of the vehicle jointly and severally liable to pay compensation under section 140, in view of Chapter X of the said Act.

(3.) In the result, the respondent i.e. owner/driver/insurer shall be liable to pay jointly and severally in the sum of Rs. 50,000/- as awarded by the Tribunal, under section 140 of the said Act. The impugned order dated 15th July, 2008 is set aside and modified, as above. Appeal is allowed accordingly.