Allahabad High Court
Icici Lombard General Insurance ... vs Smt. Rajesh Rana And 3 Others on 9 August, 2018
Bench: Irshad Ali
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?AFR
Reserved on 23.03.2018
Delivered on 09.08.2018
Court No. - 4
Case :- FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No. - 2941 of 2013
Appellant :- Icici Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd
Respondent :- Smt. Rajesh Rana And 3 Others
Counsel for Appellant :- Rahul Sahai
Counsel for Respondent :- V.C. Dixit
Hon'ble Bala Krishna Narayana,J.
Hon'ble Irshad Ali,J.
(Delivered by Hon'ble Irshad Ali,J.)
Heard learned counsel for the parties.
The present First Appeal From Order has been filed by the appellant I.C.I.C.I Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. against the judgement and award dated 29.7.2013 passed by M.A.C.T. / Additional District and Sessions Judge, Court No. 5, Meerut in M.A.C.P. No. 228 of 2010 (Smt. Rajesh Rana and others Vs. I.C.I.C.I. Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. And another).
Brief facts of the case are that on 5.3.2009 at about 12.15 a.m., Pramod Rana along with his friends was going to Akash Ganga Apartment Sector 24, Rohani, New Delhi by Verna car being registration no. U.P. 17 C-7777, while reaching at T.Paiet, a truck bearing registration no. H.R. 46 L 0612, due to negligent and rash driving of the truck driver, the car collided in which Pramod Rana and his three friends were injured and during the course of treatment they died.
Learned counsel for the appellant-Insurance Company has submitted that the Tribunal committed a patent error of law in fastening the liability of payment of compensation on the claimants/respondents. The quantum of compensation has been criticized as being highly inflated.
On the other hand, learned counsel for the claimant-respondents submitted that since the appellant-Insurance Company has been given the right to recover the amount of compensation paid by it to the claimants/respondents under the impugned judgement and award from the respondent no.4, owner of the offending vehicle who has admittedly not filed any appeal against the impugned judgement and award, thus the impugned judgement and award is not liable to be set-aside on the basis of the submissions made by learned counsel for the appellant. This appeal lacks merit and is liable to be dismissed.
Learned counsel for the claimants/respondents submitted that although the right to recover the amount of compensation has been given to the appellant-Insurance Company against the owner of the offending vehicle but in view decision of the full Bench of this Court in the case of United India Insurance Co. Ltd. Versus Smt. Shashi Prabha Sharma and Others reported in 2015 (4) T.A.C. 650 (All.) holding that where the Insurance company is directed to pay the amount at the first instance despite having been held not to be under a legal liability to pay awarded amount, while permitting the insurer to recover the amount from the owner, the procedure which has been laid down in the case of National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Challa Upendra reported in 2004 (57) A.L.R. 284 (S.C.) requiring that before the amount is released to the claimants/respondents, owner of the offending vehicle should be asked to furnish security for the amount which the insurer has to pay to the claimants/respondents has to be followed, it is imperative that this Court, if it proposes to dismiss this appeal, should clarify that before the amount of compensation is released to the claimants/respondents, owner of the offending vehicle respondent no.4 should be asked to furnish security for the amount which the appellant has to pay to the claimants/respondents.
We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the impugned judgement and award as well as the judgement cited by the learned counsel for the parties, although we are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgement and order but keeping in view the directions issued by the Apex Court in case of Challa Upendra Rao (supra) and by the full Bench of this Court in the case of Smt. Shashi Prabha Sharma (supra), we direct the M.A.C.T., Meerut that 30 % of the amount so awarded has been directed to be deposited, we direct the Insurance Company to deposit the entire amount before the M.A.C.T., Meerut will not release until the respondent no.4, owner of the offending vehicle furnishes security for the amount which the appellant has to pay to the claimants/respondents. The appellant-Insurance Company shall file an application in this regard before the M.A.C.T., Meerut within two weeks from today. The M.A.C.T., Meerut shall thereafter initiate necessary proceedings to enforce the presence of the respondent no.4, owner of the offending vehicle before it and require him to furnish the requisite security and thereafter the awarded amount of compensation shall be released in favour of the claimants/respondents.
Subject to aforesaid directions, this appeal stands disposed of.
Order Date :- 09.08.2018
Manoj
