Uttarakhand High Court
National Insurance Co. Ltd vs Smt. Basant Devi Joshi And Others on 9 November, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL
AO No. 656 of 2016
National Insurance Co. Ltd. .................Appellant
-versus-
Smt. Basant Devi Joshi and others .........Respondents
Date of hearing and Judgement : 09.11.2021
Advocates appeared in the case:-
For Appellant : Mr. Prabhat Pande, learned
counsel for the appellant
Versus
For Respondents : Mr. Siddhant Manral, learned
counsel for the respondent no.1.
Mr. Ghanshyam Joshi, learned counsel for the
respondentno.2.
Sri S.K.Mishra, J.
1. Heard Mr. Prabhat Pande, learned counsel for the
appellant, Mr. Siddhant Manral, learned counsel for
the respondent no. 1 and Mr. Ghanshyam Joshi,
learned counsel for the respondent no.2.
2. The appellant insurance company, who was
respondent no.1 before the Motor Accident Claims
Tribunal, Almora in MACP No. 17 of 2015 has assailed
the award passed by the Tribunal directing it to pay a
sum of Rs. 19,60,429/- with 9 % interest. The only
issue that arises at present is whether in the absence
of a fitness certificate, the Insurance Company shall
be liable to indemnify the compensation/liquefied
damages to the claimant on the death of a 3rd party
claimant. This matter is no more res integra. In the
case of National Insurance Company vs. Smt. Anandi
Devi and another, a judgement delivered by co-
ordinate Bench on 07.03.2019 in FA No. 73 of 2017,
the matter has been settled.
3. In fact, this Court in the aforesaid case has taken into
consideration the definition of the certificate of
fitness, the transport of vehicle and has also taken
into consideration the ratio decided by Hon'ble
Constitution Bench of Kerala High Court in Pareed
Pillai vs. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.,
reported in 2019 ACJ 16, of which judgment
specially para 16 and 21 has been relied upon by the
learned Judge. It is further found from the record
that the in the aforesaid case as also by of the
judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of
National Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Swaran
Singh and others, [(2004) 3 SCC 297], Lakshmi
Chand vs. Reliance General Insurance [2016) 3 SCC
100] has come to the conclusion that the use of
transport vehicle in public place without permit is a
fundamental/statutory infraction and the principles
laid down in Swaran Singh's (supra), cannot be made
applicable to this case in this regard.
4. Thus, the appeal is disposed of in the principle
enunciated above and consequently the appeal
succeeds and allowed in part with a modification of
the impugned order 20.09.2016 to the effect that the
insurance company/appellant would pay the amount
awarded to the claimant forthwith. However, it would
be open to the Insurance Company to recover the
same from the owner of the offending vehicle i.e.
respondent no 1 in compliance with Section 56 of the
Act.
5. With such observations, the appeal is disposed of.
6. There shall be no order as to the costs.
7. Urgent certified copy of this order be granted on
proper application.
(S.K.Mishra)
Judge
KKS
