NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO LTD Vs. ANIL KURMI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) I have heard the learned counsel for the parties.

(2.) By this common judgment and order, I propose to dispose of the two civil revision and the lone writ petition enlisted above, for, the two civil revision and the writ petition are, concede the learned counsel for the parties, inextricably linked with each other and the decision in any of them may adversely affect the out-come of the remaining matters.

(3.) The material facts and various stages, which have led to the two civil revision and the writ petition aforementioned, may, in brief, be set out as follows : The writ petitioners, Smti Rasiti Das and Sri Anil Kurmi, made two separate applications under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (in short, the 'MV Act'), in the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Kamrup, Guwahati, seeking compensation for the death of Nitin Das and Naresh Kurmi respectively. The claim applications made by these two claimants gave rise to MAC case Nos. 173/2002 and 821/2002 respectively. While in MAC Case No. 173/2002, Smti Rasiti Das made a claim for compensation for the death of her son, Nitin Das, Sri Anil Kurmi, in MAC Case No. 821/2002, claimed com- pensation for the death of his brother, Naresh Kurmi, both the deaths having caused in an accident, which took place, on 20.05.2001, at Amlapatti, Dibrugarh. In both these claim cases, the claimants' case was that while the said two deceased were travelling in an ambassador car, bearing registration No. UGY 233, from Kathkota to Natungaon, the said car collided against a public bus, bearing registration No. ASZ 6441, resulting into the death of the said two deceased, namely, Nitin Das and Naresh Kurmi, the accident having occurred due to rash and negligent driving by the drivers of both the said vehicles, in both the said claim cases, M/S New India Assurance Company Limited filed, as insurer of the said public bus, their written statements, contending, inter alia, that according to the police report, which was submitting in connection with the said accident, the said two deceased were not the occupants of the said car, rather, the said two deceased were cyclists and they were knocked down by the said car, which were driven by its driver in rash and negligent manner. According to the insurer, since there was no fault on the part of the driver of the said bus, M/s New India Assurance Company Limited, as insurer of the said bus, was not liable to pay any compensation whatsoever.