Legal Manager v. Mruthunjaya Hiremath
Case brief
What is this about?
MFA No.7078 of 2022, High Court of Karnataka (Division Bench, T.M.Nadaf J. author) — insurer liability where premium cheque dishonoured ('funds insufficient'); policy conditional on cheque clearance; no policy in existence, insurer not liable; pay-and-recover plea of third-party claimant rejected; liability shifted to owner (respondent No.2); award of Rs.30,67,500 with 6% interest in MVC.No.1412/2018 (SCCH-25, Bengaluru) set aside against insurer under S.173(1) MV Act; deposit refunded to insurer.
What did the court decide?
Appeal allowed; the judgment and award dated 11.07.2022 passed in MVC.No.1412/2018 fastening the liability on the Insurer is set aside; liability to make good the amount awarded by the Tribunal is fastened on respondent No.2 (owner of the offending vehicle); the amount in deposit shall be refunded to the appellant/insurer on proper identification.