In a civil appeal against a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal award, the Court held that findings on rash and negligent driving and insurer liability, where appeals against other claims in the same accident were not preferred, operate as res judicata. The appeal was dismissed.
The appeal and the stay application were dismissed.
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.
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR
: J U D G M E N T :
S.B. CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.1778/2013
Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd., Jaipur
v.
Smt. Mukesh Kanwar & Ors.
Date of Judgment
::
02.12.2013
PRESENT
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN BHANSALI
Mr. Vinay Kothari, for the appellant. Mr. Arun Dadhich, for the respondent-caveators.
BY THE COURT:
This appeal is directed against the judgment and award dated 03.07.2013 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Deedwana, District Nagaur ('the Tribunal'), whereby, for the death of one Bhagwan Singh, the Tribunal has awarded a sum of Rs.24,44,532/- alongwith interest @ 6% from the date of filing application for compensation ('the application').
At the outset it is submitted by learned counsel for the respondents that five applications by different claimants were filed in relation to the same accident, which occurred on 06.11.2011 and the Tribunal by the impugned common award has awarded various sums to the claimants in the different applications. The finding recorded by the Tribunal regarding the rash and negligent driving by the driver of the offending vehicle and the liability of the Insurance Company is common for all the cases.
It is pointed out that in rest of the claim cases, the
2
appellant Insurance Company has not preferred any appeal and, as such, the finding on issue No.1 relating to rash and negligent driving and issue No.2 relating to liability of the appellant Insurance Company would, therefore, operate as res judicata.
Learned counsel for the appellant fairly submitted that appeals have indeed not been preferred against the four other awards.
In that view of the matter and in view of the law laid down by this Hon'ble Court in Janki Bai & Ors. v. Sunmala Jalan & Ors. : 2010 (1) RLW 700 the findings recorded in other four cases, which in absence of appeal has attained finality, would operate as res judicata in the present case and it is not open for the appellant Insurance Company to question the said findings all over again.
In view of above, there is no substance in the present appeal and the same is, therefore, dismissed. The stay application is also dismissed.
(ARUN BHANSALI), J.
A.K. Chouhan/
21
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the appellate insurer can challenge rash and negligent driving findings in a common award where no appeal lay against other successful claim applications.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Janki Bai & Ors. v. Sunmala Jalan & Ors.Relied on¶21
Janki Bai & Ors. v. Sunmala Jalan & Ors. : 2010 (1) RLW 700
Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd.
Smt. Mukesh Kanwar & Ors.
Arun Bhansali
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
