SHANTI DEVI AND ORS. Vs. SITA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This special appeal arises out of a judgment of learned Single Judge, by which, he has dismissed the writ petition arising out of an order dated 15.09.2012 passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Jaitaran in Claim Case No. 88/2008. The Tribunal had allowed the application filed by the respondent for substitution of legal representative of the deceased-claimant. Learned Single Judge did not find any substance in the grounds of the writ petition that application was filed with a delay of about seven months; and that the procedure prescribed in the Rules for filing the application was not followed.

(2.) Learned Single Judge has not committed any illegality in dismissing the writ petition inasmuch as though the Rajasthan Motor Vehicle Rules, 1990, by virtue of Rule 10.28 makes the provisions of Order 22 Rule 1 to 7 and 9 applicable to the proceedings, sub-section (3) of Section 166, does not provide any limitation for filing the claim petition, as it has since been omitted by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 1994. Even otherwise, the respondent was entitled to claim compensation on account of death of her son. We may observe here that the Motor Vehicles Act providing for Special Tribunal and procedure was enacted as a social welfare legislation, in which, the claim of the heirs of the deceased or the injured or the legal representatives of the claimant cannot be defeated on technicalities. Now, since there is no limitation for filing the claim petition, the heirs could have filed a claim petition even now and thus no purpose will be served in rejecting the application on technical grounds.