Accident Victim’s Kin Can File Appeal If Insurance Company Exonerated Of Liability: Bombay High Court

Justice Shivkumar Dige set aside the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal’s order exonerating the insurance company of any liability owing to the expired driving license. The court further upheld the original claimant’s right to appeal in such a case.

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act states that any person aggrieved by the Tribunal’s award can file Appeal, therefore the “Appellants being Claimants have right to file Appeal,” the court said.

Facts

On November 23 2011, deceased Asha Baviskar was riding pillion along with her husband when a truck tried to overtake their vehicle. Baviskar was hit by the truck and died after being run over by the rear wheel of the truck.

The tribunal ordered the truck owner to pay compensation but exonerated the insurance company of liability as the truck driver’s license expired four months before the accident, which means he wasn’t holding a valid driving license.

The victim’s kin filed an appeal against the insurance company in the High Court against this award.

The insurance company’s argument was that the truck owner would fall under the definition of ‘aggrieved person’ and could file an appeal under Section 173 of the MV Act. The term aggrieved person wasn’t defined under the MV Act and claimants couldn’t be considered as aggrieved person for getting compensation from Insurance Company only.

However, in the court’s view at the time of the accident, the offending truck was insured with the Insurance Company. There was contractual liability of the Insurance Company to indemnify the compensation, the court said.

“Driving licenses of the driver of the offending vehicle was not renewed at the time of the accident. It doesn’t mean that he was not skilled driver.”

Significantly the court ordered the Insurance company to pay the compensation and recover it from the truck owner.

“It is settled principle of law that if driver of offending vehicle was not holding effective and valid driving licenses at the time of the accident, Insurance Company has to pay compensation first and recover it from the owner of the offending vehicle.”

Though owner of offending truck has not challenged the impugned order, it cannot be said that the Claimants can’t challenge it. Hence, I hold that any aggrieved person can file the Appeal, the court said.

Click Here To Read/Download Judgement