BASANT RANI Vs. RAM SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHRIMATI Basant Rani and her minor daughter, Manu, had filed a claim petition under Section 110a of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 ("the Act" for short), for an amount of Rs. 3,00,000 as compensation for the death of Shri Suresh Kumar, the husband and father respectively of the petitioners, which occurred in an automobile accident caused due to the rashness and negligence of the driver of bus No. DEP 3737. The vehicle was insured with New India Insurance Co. Ltd. , respondent No. 3. The claim petition was dismissed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Rohtak. The petitioners have filed an appeal against that award. In the appeal, the petitioners have moved the present petition under Section 92a of the Act for directing the respondents to pay a sum of Rs. 15,000 along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent. per annum.

(2.) RESPONDENT No. 3 has contested the application and put in reply. Two preliminary objections have been taken.

(3.) THE first preliminary objection is that the application is not maintainable in the High Court, but it should have been filed before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal. It is, however, not denied that the applicants are the widow and the daughter of Suresh Kumar Batra, deceased. Secondly, that the application was barred by limitation, because the accident occurred on December 29, 1982, whereas the application was filed in the High Court in 1985 and no valid reasons have been given for condonation of delay.