SULAKHA PANDIT Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants have assailed the judgment and awarded dtd. 8/8/2018 passed by the Ld. Judge, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Tamluk, Purba Medinipur, in M.A.C. Case No. 3 of 2016, thereby the learned Tribunal allowed the claim application filed under Sec. 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 after rejecting the same against the respondent no. 1/Insurance Company and ex parte against respondent no. 2/owner of the offending vehicle.

(2.) The background of the filing this appeal is that on 14/10/2013 at about 12 hours, when the victim was going in a pickup van bearing Registration No. WB 29/7251 as a Khalashi, at that material point of time, the vehicle dashed one unknown vehicle, which was standing near Mankur Morh on Kolaghat to Howrah bound road due to rash and negligent driving of the driver. The victim as well as other persons sustained grievous bleeding injuries. Victim was removed to Bagnan Hospital. Where the victim declared brought dead.

(3.) The respondent no. 1/Insurance Company contested the case by filing written statement denying all the material facts and allegations made by the appellants in the claim application and further Insurance Company stated that the victim was a gratuitous passenger of the light goods vehicle. Accordingly, the Insurance Company is not liable to pay any compensation as claimed by the appellants. Whereas respondent no. 2/owner of the offending vehicle did not contest the case from the initial stage and claim case was decided ex parte against the owner of the vehicle.