APSRTC Vs. B.KANAKARATNABAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By common order dated 20.09.2007 passed in L.P.A.Nos.206, 207, 208 and 219 of 2000 and 6 of 2002, a learned Division Bench of this Court referred for decision by a Full Bench the question as to whether compensation payable in respect of claims arising out of accidents involving insured buses hired by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) should be borne by the owner of the vehicle, the Insurance Company, the APSRTC or by some or all of them. The order of reference reads as under:

(2.) We find there is cleavage of opinion in these judgments. We took up these cases on several occasions but nobody appeared for the Insurance Company and on last occasion, we requested Sri Kota Subba Rao, Senior Counsel, to assist us as Amicus Curiae. He had taken lot of pains to point out at least Nine judgments of this Court and the Division Bench judgments referred to above. He has also pointed out to us, two judgments of the Supreme Court reported in Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation v. Kailash Nath Kothari [1997 (2) ACJ 1148] and Rikhi Ram v. Sukhrania [(2003) 3 SCC 97].

(3.) L.P.A.Nos.206, 207, 208 and 219 of 2000 and 6 of 2002 arose out of the common judgment dated 16.09.1999 of a learned Judge of this Court in CMA Nos.173, 175, 177, 174 and 176 of 1990 respectively, reported in ANDHRA PRADESH STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION V/s. BODAPATI KANAKA RATNABAI. Thereby, the learned Judge had held the APSRTC also to be liable for payment of the compensation and dismissed its appeals against the decrees of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal holding the owner of the vehicle, the APSRTC and the Insurance Company jointly and severally liable.