Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Can Look Into Police Records To Determine Question Of Negligence : Supreme Court

Update: 2025-01-03 06:52 GMT
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The Supreme Court has reiterated that in motor accident claim cases, police records can be looked into by the Tribunal/Court to determine the question of negligence.A bench comprising Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Rajesh Bindal referred to Mangla Ram v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. and Ors(2018) which held that charge sheet and other documents collected by the police during the investigation...

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The Supreme Court has reiterated that in motor accident claim cases, police records can be looked into by the Tribunal/Court to determine the question of negligence.

A bench comprising Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Rajesh Bindal referred to Mangla Ram v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. and Ors(2018) which held that charge sheet and other documents collected by the police during the investigation in motor accident cases can be relied upon.

It was held in Mangla Ram that the filing of charge-sheet prima against the driver facie points towards his complicity in driving the vehicle negligently and rashly.

"Thus, there can be no dispute with respect to the position that the question regarding negligence which is essential for passing an award in a motor vehicle accident claim should be considered based on the evidence available before the Tribunal. If the police records are available before the Tribunal, taking note of the purpose of the Act it cannot be said that looking into," the Bench observed.

The Court made these observations while dismissing an appeal filed by an insurer against a judgment of the High Court in a motor accident compensation case. Here, the Tribunal had relied upon the final report filed against the driver of the offending vehicle. The High Court found nothing wrong with the procedure adopted by the Tribunal.

The Court also referred to the judgment in Mathew Alexander v. Mohammed Shafi & Anr(2023) which held that the claimants need to only establish their case on the touchstone of preponderance of probabilities.

Case Title : ICIC Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd v. Rajni Sahoo

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 9

Click here to read the judgment


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