National Insurance Company Ltd. vs Smt Lammi Bhavedi
2023 Latest Caselaw 12887 MP

                                                     1
                          IN    THE     HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
                                             AT JABALPUR
                                                  BEFORE
                                    HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VIVEK AGARWAL
                                           ON THE 9 th OF AUGUST, 2023
                                          MISC. APPEAL No. 2721 of 2022

                         BETWEEN:-
                         NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD. THR DEPUTY
                         MANAGER TP HUB VIJAY NAGAR JABALPUR ABOVE
                         ASTHA HOTEL CIVIL LINES DISTRICT MANDLA
                         (MADHYA PRADESH)

                                                                           .....APPELLANT
                         (BY SHRI N.S.RUPRAH - ADVOCATE)

                         AND
                         1.    SMT LAMMI BHAVEDI W/O LATE SHRI ASHISH
                               BHAVEDI, AGED ABOUT 25 YEARS, VILLAGE
                               DARGAH P.S. NIWAS DISTRICT MANDLA MP
                               (MADHYA PRADESH)

                         2.    PUSHPLATA D/O LATE SHRI ASHISH BHEVDI,
                               AGED ABOUT 5 YEARS, OCCUPATION: MINOR
                               THROUGH MOTHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN
                               SMT. LAMMI BHAVEDI R/O VILLAGE DHARGARH
                               POLICE STATION NIWAS DISTRICT MANDLA M.P.
                               (MADHYA PRADESH)

                         3.    PUSHPENDRA S/O LATE SHRI ASHISH BHAVEDI,
                               AGED ABOUT 4 YEARS, OCCUPATION: MINOR
                               THROUGH MOTHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN
                               SMT. LAMMI BHAVEDI R/O VILLAGE DHARGARH
                               POLICE STATION NIWAS DISTRICT MANDLA M.P.
                               (MADHYA PRADESH)

                         4.    PUSHPRAJ S/O LATE SHRI ASHISH BHAVEDI,
                               AGED ABOUT 4 YEARS, OCCUPATION: MINOR
                               THROUGH MOTHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN
                               SMT. LAMMI BHAVEDI R/O VILLAGE DHARGARH
                               POLICE STATION NIWAS DISTRICT MANDLA M.P.
                               (MADHYA PRADESH)

                         5.    DILIP PANDRE S/O SHRI JOGIRAM PANDRE,
                               AGED ABOUT 33 YEARS, DEORIKALA, BABALIYA
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: AMIT JAIN
Signing time:
8/10/2023 8:00:27 PM
                                                       2
                               POLICE STATION NIWAS DISTRICT MANDLA
                               (M.P.) (DRIVER AND OWNER OF VEHICLE NO. MP-
                               51-MG-4837) (MADHYA PRADESH)

                                                                                       .....RESPONDENTS


                               This appeal coming on for admission this day, th e court passed the
                         following:
                                                              ORDER

This appeal is filed by the National Insurance Company Limited being aggrieved of award dated 7.3.2022 passed by learned Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal-Niwas, District Mandla in Claim Case No.26/2020.

Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the accident took place on

29.3.2020 at 9:00 PM and the FIR was lodged on 12.4.2020 whereas deceased Ashish Bhavedi died on 23.5.2020. It is a case of false implication of the Motorcycle bearing registration No.MP51-MG-4837 and, therefore, the Claims Tribunal should have exonerated the appellant/Insurance Company. Learned counsel refers to Paragraph No.15 of the impugned award where Laxmibai and Bajarilal in Paragraph No.11 of their cross-examination admitted that they had not seen the incident. Yet on the basis of the Final Report filed by the Police, the claim has been allowed and, therefore, this appeal deserves to be allowed and the impugned award deserves to be set aside.

Learned counsel for the appellant places reliance on the judgment of the Apex Court in Anil & Others versus New India Assurance Company Limited & Others (2018) 2 SCC 482 wherein it is held that where a false case is set up and the FIR was lodged after 32 days of the incident, the Claims Tribunal was justified in rejecting the claim. Similarly reliance is also placed on the decision of a Coordinate Bench of this Hon'ble High Court in

Signature Not Verified Signed by: AMIT JAIN Signing time:

8/10/2023 8:00:27 PM

M.A.No.4825/2018 [Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited versus Smt. Kamla Bai Kachhi (Patel) & Others] decided on 22.5.2020 wherein on account of 23 days' delay in lodging of the FIR, the case was found to be false and indulgence was shown in the matter.

I have heard learned counsel for the appellant and gone through the record.

Perusal of FIR (Exhibit P/2) reveals that the author of the FIR was posted as Sub Inspector at Police Station-Niwas, District Mandla and on 30.3.2020, he had received a memo for investigation from the concerned hospital where injured Ashish S/o.Dharam Singh Bhavedi was admitted on account of a road accident.

It is evident that the intimation of the accident, which took place on 29.3.2020 at about 9:00 PM, was given to the Police Authorities on 30.3.2020 itself by the Hospital concerned and, therefore, the aforesaid aspect of delay in receiving the intimation is not available in the present case.

It is true that the Police Authorities took time to record statement of various persons including the statement of the injured, who had categorically deposed that when he was coming on his motorcycle from Kevlari then at Bajarighat between Babaliya to Dargarh, he was hit by Dilip Pandre, who was driving the Motorcycle No.MP51-MG-4837. This part of statement given to the

Police Authorities by the injured himself, who died later on 23.5.2020 could not be disputed by examining the Investigating Officer and the Author of the FIR, namely, Jagdish Pandre.

It has come on record that the Insurance Company did not examine any witness and, therefore, when it was open to the Insurance Company to have examined the Investigating Officer and the Author of the FIR to extract the truth Signature Not Verified Signed by: AMIT JAIN Signing time:

8/10/2023 8:00:27 PM

as to whether and when they had recorded the statement of the injured, who later on died and when in Paragraph No.6 of the impugned award, it has been discussed by the Claims Tribunal that the Non-Applicant No.1 (Owner/Driver of the Motorcycle) accepted the factum of the accident with his Motorcycle then there is no other requirement to be fulfilled by the claimants.

Hence, the decision of the Apex Court in Anil & Others versus New India Assurance Company Limited & Others (supra) so also the decision of a Coordinate Bench of this Hon'ble High Court in M.A.No.4825/2018 [Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited versus Smt. Kamla Bai Kachhi (Patel) & Others] decided on 22.5.2020 are distinguishable on their own facts.

Since the Appellant/National Insurance Company Limited failed to adduce evidence of even the owner of the Motorcycle, who had admittedly accepted the factum of the accident taking place with his Motorcycle and then it also failed to examine the concerned Police Officials to deny that no statement was given by the deceased to them, the present one cannot be said to be a case of false implication.

Accordingly, this appeal fails and is dismissed. Let record of the Claims Tribunals be sent back.

(VIVEK AGARWAL) JUDGE amit

Signature Not Verified Signed by: AMIT JAIN Signing time:

8/10/2023 8:00:27 PM