Maria Antnony Raj vs Moses Veda Samuel
2023 Latest Caselaw 12510 Mad

Citation : 2023 Latest Caselaw 12510 Mad
Judgement Date : 14 September, 2023

Madras High Court

Maria Antnony Raj vs Moses Veda Samuel on 14 September, 2023

                                                                           C.R.P.(MD) No.2319 of 2023


                          BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

                                                DATED : 14.09.2023

                                                       CORAM

                   THE HON'BLE MRS.JUSTICE K.GOVINDARAJAN THILAKAVADI

                                            C.R.P.(MD) No.2319 of 2023

                Maria Antnony Raj                                                  ... Petitioner

                                                          Vs.

                1.Moses Veda Samuel

                2.Maria John Kennedy                                               ... Respondents

                Prayer:- This Civil Revision Petition filed under Article 227 of the
                Constitution of India, to direct the learned District Judge, Kanyakumari at
                Nagercoil to number the un-numbered F.M.C.O.P.No.83 of 2023 and take the
                case on file and dispose the same on merits.

                                      For Petitioner      : Mr.F.Deepak


                                                       ORDER

This Civil Revision Petition has been filed by the petitioner to direct the

learned District Judge, Kanyakumari at Nagercoil to number the un-numbered

F.M.C.O.P.No.83 of 2023 and take the case on file and dispose the same on

merits.

_____________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

C.R.P.(MD) No.2319 of 2023

2. According to the petitioner, he filed the above claim petition in un-

numbered F.M.C.O.P.No.83 of 2023 before the Motor Accident Claim

Tribunal (Principal District Court), Kanyakumari at Nagercoil for

compensation which was returned by the learned Principal District Judge,

Kanyakumari at Nagercoil stating that the claim petition is barred by limitation.

3. It is submitted that the limitation is generally considered as a mixed

question of law and fact and the same cannot be probed at the stage of

numbering. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that FIR has

been registered before the expiry of 6 months from the date of the accident and

therefore, the learned Principal District Judge, Kanyakumari at Nagercoil

cannot return the claim petition on the ground of limitation.

4. To support of his contention, the learned counsel for the petitioner

relied upon a decision of the Madras High Court (Principal Seat of this Court),

Chennai, rendered in the case of Malaravan Vs. Praveen Travels Private

Limited and others, in C.R.P.No.2558 of 2023 dated 18.08.2023, in which, it

was held that FIR has been registered before the expiry of 6 months and the

claim petition is very well maintainable. The observation made in the above

case is extracted hereunder:-

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C.R.P.(MD) No.2319 of 2023

24.A perusal of the Rules, the judgment of the Supreme Court and the timeline which has been set forth above would clearly show that, the claim petition need not be commenced only by way of presentation of the petition under Section 166. This is clear from Section 166(4) which states that a report filed by the police to the concerned Authorities including the stakeholders, Insurance Companies and the jurisdictional Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal should be treated as the Claim Petition.

5. Applying the above principles and the law discussed in the above

case, since FIR has been registered by the Traffic Investigation Wing Police,

Nagercoil in time i.e., on the same day when the accident took place on

04.05.2022, the claim petition in un-numbered F.M.C.O.P.No.83 of 2023 filed

by the petitioner is maintainable.

6. Therefore, the docket order passed by the learned Principal District

Judge, Kanyakumari at Nagercoil is set aside and a direction is given to the

learned Principal District Judge, Kanyakumari at Nagercoil to number the

claim petition filed by the petitioner under Section 166(a) of the Motor Vehicle

Act, 1988 and Rule 24 of the Tamil Nadu Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal

Rules, 1989, for just compensation and take up the same for trial.

_____________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis