NIKHIL KINHA Vs. ATTAR SINGH AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The claim petition brought by Nikhil Kinha, the appellant has been dismissed by learned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Rohtak (for short 'the Tribunal') vide award dated 17.11.2008. The claim petition of the appellant-claimant was dismissed for the reasons that he was not the registered owner of the vehicle and was not entitled to compensation for the damage suffered by the car in the accident. Aggrieved by this award, the present appeal has been filed by him. On 11.05.2005 the claimant alongwith his friend Gaurav was going from Faridabad to Rohtak in his Escort Ford car bearing registration No. HR-18-5678. At about 3.15 PM when they were in front of R.R. Line, Near Police Pocket ahead of Dhaula Kuan, the police was checking the vehicles. A truck of BSF was standing in the queue. Gaurav stopped the car behind the truck of BSF. In the meanwhile, a DTC bus bearing registration No. DL-1PA-7912 came from their back side at a very fast speed and in a negligent manner and had hit into their car, which was stationery at that time. The car was badly damaged. The damage to the car was got assessed from Satish Kumar Gupta & Co., Loss Assessor & Surveyor, Delhi, who assessed the loss at Rs. 3,00,000/-.

(2.) The claim petition is resisted by the respondents. They have denied the ownership of the vehicle of the claimant as well as the extent of damage suffered by the car or his entitlement to recover Rs. 3,00,000/- as compensation.

(3.) Having the respondents challenging the status of the claimant as registered owner of the damaged car and his competence to prefer the claim petition, learned Tribunal considered the evidence on record and on the admission of the claimant that on the date of the accident, he was not the registered owner of the car, it was held that he had no locus-standi or cause of action to file the claim petition. Consequently the claim petition has been dismissed.