HANJA Vs. RAM KISHAN AHIR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) With the consent of the parties I proceed to dispose of this writ petition.

(2.) The petitioner Smt. Hanja is wife of Shanker Singh and other petitioners are sons and daughter of Shanker Singh who died out of use of a motor vehicle in an accident which took place on May 21, 1984. A claim petition under Section 110A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (for short the Act) was filed by the petitioners herein in the Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ajmer on October 30, 1984 within six months, the period of limitation prescribed under the Act. In the said claim petition the petitioners had arrayed Jaipur Golden Transport Company as respondent as the owner of the truck No, RRG 4655. In the reply to the said claim petition filed by the Jaipur Golden Transport Company, the said company came out with a case that it was not the registered owner of the vehicle and as such they were not liable to pay any amount. The petitioners thereafter made an enquiry and they are said to have inspected the record of the case in the Court of the learned Magistrate where a charge-sheet has been filed and on enquiry they came to know that one Harnam Das Bhatia was the registered owner of the vehicle and New India Assurance Company was its insurer. An application was filed on behalf of the petitioners in the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal on March 28, 1985 under Order 6 Rule 17 read with Order 1 Rule 10 C.P.C. wherein it was prayed that it was under the bonafide mistake that in the original claim petition Jaipur Golden Transport Company was shown as the owner of the above truck. It was prayed that now Harnam Das Bhatia, the registered owner of the truck and New India Assurance Company, its insurer, may be arrayed as respondent. The application was contested on behalf of both the parties who were sought to be added and the learned Tribunal under its order dated May 16, 1985 allowed the application in part and in so far as New India Assurance Company is concerned, but dismissed the application for impleading Harnam Das Bhatia as respondent on the ground that it will amount to addition of the parties beyond the period of limitation and the claim against that party had become time barred.

(3.) It was contended by the learned Counsel for the petitioners that the learned member of the Tribunal has committed an illegality and atleast impropriety in dismissing the application insofar as Harnam Das Bhatia is concerned as the claim petition was filed within the time prescribed under the Act and it was by a bona fide mistake that the name of the vehicle owner came to be mentioned in the original claim petition as Jaipur Golden Transport Company and the said mistake occurred due to the fact that on the body of the truck Jaipur Golden Transport Company was written. It was on enquiry made after the written statement was filed by Jaipur Golden Transport Company that the petitioners came to know about the real owner of the vehicle.