ASHOK KOHLI Vs. PRAKASHCHAND JAIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition is for revision of an order dated 10-3-1988 whereby, in motor accident claim case No. 4 of 1987, Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ashoknagar, District Guna, dismissed the petitioner's application for stay of the case Under Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(2.) THE said case was the out-come of an application filed by the respondents 1 and 2 against the petitioner and the remaining two respondents for award of compensation Under Section 110-A of the Motor Vehicles Act. The Motor Vehicle in question was alleged to have been driven by the petitioner, owned by the respondent No. 3 and insured with the respondent No. 4. The accident was alleged to have occurred due to negligence of the petitioner in use of the motor vehicle as its driver. A criminal case for an alleged offence punishable Under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code was also instituted against the petitioner in respect of the same incident. That criminal case is still pending. Before filing his written statement in the claim case, the petitioner filed an application for stay of the claim case Under Section 151 ibid, till disposal of the criminal case. That application having been dismissed, he has come up in revision.

(3.) IN the matter of stay, as pointed out by their Lordships of the Supreme Court in the case of M.S. Sheriff (supra), the only relevant consideration is the likelihood of embarrassment, that, however, is not a hard and fast rule, for special considerations obtaining in any particular case might make some other course more expedient and just. The learned Counsel for the respondents 1 and 2 has referred to Calcutta High Court's decisions in Jay Narayan Misra v. The State and Ors. 1966 Criminal Law Journal 207 and Ashm Bindu Ray v. Chittaranjan Banerjee and Ors. 1978 Criminal Law Journal 557, in both of which reference was made to that decision of their Lordships of the Supreme Court. In the circumstances of those cases, criminal proceedings were stayed till disposal of civil suits.