Appellant insurance company appealed against Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awards relying on vehicle overloading. Court rejected the claim, confirming the Tribunal awards and dismissing appeals.
Appeals dismissed with no costs; appellant directed to deposit awarded amounts with interest within four weeks.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 20.12.2016
CORAM : THE HONOURABLE Mr.JUSTICE N.SESHASAYEE
CMA.Nos.717, 1161, 2437 of 2009, CMA.No.3690 of 2010, CMA.No.1455, 1456 and 2661 of 2011 & CMA.No.40 of 2012 and MP.Nos.1,1,1 of 2009, MP.No.1 of 2010, MP.No.1,1,1 of 2011 & MP.No.1 of 2012
United India Insurance Company Ltd., Third Party Motor Claims Cell, No.38, Anna Salai, Chennai-2.
No.38, Anna Salai, Chennai-2. ... Appellant in all CMAs Vs. 1.Tamilselvan ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.717 of 2009 2.Prabakaran ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.1161 of 2009 3.Kuppan ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.2437 of 2009 4.M.Sekar ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.3690 of 2010 5.Munivel ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.1455 of 2011 6.Natarajan ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.1456 of 2011 7.J.Jagadeesan ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.2661 of 2011 8.Murugan ... 1st Respondent in CMA.No.40 of 2012 9.M.Jayaprakash ... 2nd Respondent in all CMAs
Prayer in CMA.No.717 of 2009 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 13.12.2007 made in OP.No.79 of 2005 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ponneri.
Prayer in CMA.No.1161 of 2009 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 08.2.2008 made in OP.No.83 of 2005 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ponneri.
Prayer in CMA.No.2437 of 2009 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 21.04.2008 made in OP.No.73 of 2005 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ponneri.
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Prayer in CMA.No.3690 of 2010 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 19.06.2008 made in OP.No.96 of 2005 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Sub Court, Ponneri.
Prayer in CMA.No.1455 of 2011 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 19.06.2008 made in OP.No.104 of 2004 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Sub Court, Ponneri.
Prayer in CMA.No.1456 of 2011 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 02.12.2008 made in OP.No.108 of 2005 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Sub Court, Ponneri.
Prayer in CMA.No.2661 of 2011 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 18.06.2008 made in OP.No.69 of 2005 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Sub Court, Ponneri.
Prayer in CMA.No.40 of 2012 : Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the award and decree dated 24.07.2008 made in OP.No.67 of 2005 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ponneri.
For Appellant : Mr.D.Bhaskaran (in all CMAs) For Respondents : No Appearance (in all CMAs)
COMMON JUDGMENT
The Insurance Company had preferred separate appeals challenging the award on the aspect of liability that was fastened on it by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ponneri vide separate awards delivered in the above MCOP cases on various dates. The claim petitions were founded when on 27-12-2002, a van capsized owing to which the complainants, who were then travelling as passengers in the said van, sustained injuries. The tabulation below indicates the amount of compensation each of them claimed and the amount awarded by the Tribunal.
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| CMA Nos. | Claim Petition Nos. | Amount Claimed (Rs.) |
Amount Awarded (Rs.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMA.No.717 of 2009 | MCOP.No.79 of 2005 | 1,50,000/- | 50,500/- |
| CMA.No.1161 of 2009 | MCOP.No.83 of 2005 | 1,50,000/- | 55,000/- |
| CMA.No.2437 of 2009 | MCOP.No.73 of 2005 | 3,00,000/- | 1,03,200/- |
| CMA.No.3690 of 2010 | MCOP.No.96 of 2005 | 2,00,000/- | 84,000/- |
| CMA.No.1455 of 2011 | MCOP.No.104 of 2005 | 2,00,000/- | 38,500/- |
| CMA.No.1456 of 2011 | MCOP.No.108 of 2005 | 1,50,000/- | 67,800/- |
| CMA.No.2661 of 2011 | MCOP.No.69 of 2005 | 1,50,000/- | 52,500/- |
| CMA.No.40 of 2012 | MCOP.No.67 of 2005 | 1,50,000/- | 35,000/- |
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20.12.2016
ds
Index : Yes/No Internet:Yes/No
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To:
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N.SESHASAYEE, J.
ds
CMA.Nos.717, 1161, 2437 of 2009, CMA.No.3690 of 2010, CMA.No.1455, 1456 and 2661 of 2011 & CMA.No.40 of 2012
20.12.2016
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3 issues framed by the court
Whether the insurance company is liable given overloading of the vehicle beyond policy capacity.
Whether the quantum of compensation awarded by the Tribunal was inappropriate.
Whether an appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is maintainable here.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
National Insurance Co. Ltd., Vs. Anjana ShayamReferred¶2
National Insurance Co. Ltd., Vs. Anjana Shayam [2007(4) CTC 593]
1 provisions across 1 enactments
United India Insurance Company Ltd.
Tamilselvan
Prabakaran
Kuppan
M. Sekar
Munivel
N. SESHASAYEE
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
