Bearing Registration No vs Surjeet Singh & Ors.
2022 Latest Caselaw 2000 HP

         IN   THE   HIGH   COURT OF   HIMACHAL            PRADESH,
                               SHIMLA

                    ON THE 19th DAY OF APRIL, 2022




                                                         .
                               BEFORE





               HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAY MOHAN GOEL
              FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No.205 of 2021





    Between:

    SURJEET SINGH, S/O SH.
    RAM KRISHAN R/O VILLAGE





    HARIPUR SANDHOLI TEHSIL
    BADDI,   DISTRICT   SOLAN
    HIMACHAL PRADESH OWNER
    OF          VEHICLE/TRUCK

    BEARING REGISTRATION NO.
    HP 12-A-6214.

                                              ....APPELLANT.
    (BY MR. NITIN THAKUR, ADVOCATE)
    AND


    1.    CHAMAN LAL, S/O SH.
       PARSHOTAM SINGH, R/O
       VILLAGE KUDNA SALETI,
       TEHSIL DEHRA DISTRICT




       KANGRA    AT    PRESNET
       R/O BHUD TEHSIL BADDI,





       DISTRICT          SOLAN,
       HIMACHAL PRADESH.
    2.    NATIONAL INSURANCE





       COMPANY          LIMITED
       SECTOR               35-B
       CHANDIGARH THROUGH
       ITS MANAGER INSURER
       OF VEHICLE NO. HP12-A-
       6214.
    3.    SH. YOG RAJ, S/O SH.
       ROSHAN      LAL,     R/O
       VILLAGE    NALETI    P.O.
       JAWALAJI,         TEHSIL
       DEHRA          DISTRICT
       KANGRA,       HIMACHAL
       PRADESH     DRIVER    OF
       VEHICLE/TRUCK
       BEARING REGISTRATION
       NO. HP 12A-6214.




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                                         2




                                                  ....RESPONDENTS.




                                                               .

    (MR. SUNEET GOEL, ADVOCATE FOR RESPONDENT NO.2)

    Whether approved for reporting?1 No





          This petition coming on for orders this day, the Court passed the

    following:

                              JUDGMENT

By way of this appeal, the appellant has assailed the

award passed by the Court of learned Motor Accident Claims

Tribunal, Nalagarh in Claim Petition No. 23-NL/2 of 2019/2014,

titled as Chaman Lal Vs. Surjeet Singh & Ors., decided on

14.01.2020, which claim petition stood allowed by the learned

Tribunal in the following terms:-

Judged in the light of my findings on

issues, the petition of the petitioner is hereby allowed and the petitioner is hereby awarded a

sum of Rs.3,00,000/- with interest @ 9% per annum and respondents No.1 and 2 are jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation amount. Respondent No.3 is not liable to indemnify the

owner. However, on the basis of the principle of pay and recover, respondent No.3 is directed to deposit the award amount within a period of 45 days from today and then recover it from respondent No.1 and 2. However, it is clarified that if any amount of compensation, which has already been paid by the respondents to the petitioner, the said amount shall be deducted from the total award amount. The amount of compensation awarded in favour of the petitioner be invested immediately by the Naib Nazir of this Court in the name of Tribunal initially for a period of one year in the Nationalized Bank under automatic renewal scheme subject to any other directions issued by

the Tribunal. Memo of costs be prepared accordingly. File after its due completion be consigned to the record room.

2. Mr. Nitin Thakur, learned counsel for the appellant

.

has submitted that the award passed by the learned Tribunal is

nonest in the eyes of law for the reason that the same has been

passed by ignoring the factum of the death of one of the

respondent before it i.e. Sh. Yog Raj. On this count he has prayed

that as the award has been passed at the back of a dead person,

who was a necessary party as far as the adjudication of the claim

petition was concerned, the present appeal deserves to be allowed

and the award under challenge has to be set aside.

3. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and

having perused the record of the case, this Court is of the

considered view that as it is not in dispute that Sh. Yog Raj was

impleaded as respondent No.2 in the claim petition who died

during the pendency of the claim petition, therefore, this Court

has no option but to allow the appeal and set aside the award so

passed by the learned Tribunal in view of the law laid down by

Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Gurnam Singh (Dead) through

legal representatives and others Vs. Gurbachan Kaur Kaur (Dead)

by Legal Representatives (2017) 13, Supreme Court Cases 414, in

which Hon'ble Supreme Court has been pleased to hold that

judgment/order passed by the Court in favour of and also against

a dead person is a nullity.

4. Accordingly, on this short count, the present appeal is

allowed and award passed by learned Motor Accident Claims

Tribunal, Nalagarh in Claim Petition No. 23-NL/2 of 2019/2014,

.

titled as Chaman Lal Vs. Surjeet Singh & Ors., decided on

14.01.2020, is ordered to be set aside and the matter is remanded

back to the learned Tribunal with the direction to proceed with the

matter afresh from the stage of the death of respondent No.2. In

the event of any application being filed by the claimant therein for

bringing on record

the legal representatives of

respondent No.2 or otherwise then the same be adjudicated by the

learned Tribunal on its own merit without being influenced by any deceased

observation made by this Court in the present appeal. Further

taking into consideration the fact that the claim petition was filed

as far back as in the year 2014, it is observed that the proceedings

in the main matter be also completed as expeditiously as possible

and not later than 31st December, 2022. Represented parties

through counsel are directed to appear before the learned Tribunal

on 23.05.2022.

The present appeal is disposed of in above terms, so

also the pending miscellaneous application(s).

(Ajay Mohan Goel) Judge April 19th, 2022 (vinod)