NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD Vs. RATTAN CHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-Insurance Company has challenged award dtd. 12/9/2012 passed by the Commissioner, Employees Compensation Act, Udhampur (hereinafter referred to as the Commissioner), whereby an amount of Rs.4,36,940.00 has been awarded as compensation in favour of the claimants/respondent Nos. 1 to 5, to be payable by the appellant-Insurance Company.

(2.) It appears that respondent Nos. 1 to 5/claimants have filed a petition before the Commissioner seeking compensation on account of death of Sham Lal, who was stated to have died as a result of motor vehicular accident that took place on 9/4/2006, while the deceased was driving a vehicle No. JK14-5546. It was further claimed that the deceased was working under employment of respondent No. 6, the registered owner of the vehicle in question. The Commissioner on the basis of the evidence led by the parties, came to the conclusion that the deceased was working under employment of respondent No. 6 the registered owner of the vehicle in question and his death took place during the course of his employment. It was also found that the deceased was earning monthly wages of Rs.4000.00. Since the vehicle in question was insured with the appellant-Insurance Company, it was saddled with liability to indemnify the insured.

(3.) The appellant-Insurance Company has challenged the impugned award primarily on the ground that the registered owner of the vehicle had transferred the vehicle in question to respondent No. 7 without getting the certificate of insurance transferred in favour of the said respondent. On this ground, it is urged that the appellant-Insurance Company was not obliged to pay compensation to the claimants. It has been claimed that the insured-respondent No. 6 has transferred the offending vehicle prior to the date of the accident without getting the certificate of insurance transferred in favour of the transferee and without intimation to the appellant/insurer. Therefore, according to the appellant, the registered owner of the vehicle did not have any insurable interest, as such, the Insurance policy ceased to be in force.