\J\ ..3 ^^C^i^ N^^^R^ IN THE FjIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR, (C.G.) M.A.fQ.NO. t1CIJ / 2007 fAPPEAL VALUED AT Rs.50,000/-) APPEAL_UNDER SECTION 173 OF THE MOTORVEHICLES ACT, 1988. ^.^ -^ ¥' APPELLANTS : (NQN-APPLICANT N0.3) RESPONDENTS: Insurance Company, Through : Branch Manager, United India Insurance Company Limited, Stadium Road, T.P. Nagar, Korba, Tahsil 8s District - Korba, Chhattisgarh. Versus 1. (APPLICANT N0. 1) (APPLICANT N0. 2) 2. Sukhdeo Prasad Singh, S/o Baijoram, aged about 51 years, Smt. Fulmati, W/o Siikhdeo Prasad, aged about 44 years, Both are R/o Dingapiu-, I.T.I. Police Chowki, Rampiir, Korba, Tahsil & District - Korba, Chhattisgarh. (NON APPLICANT N0. 1) 3.K Puma Chand Tripathy, 'S/o Shri B.L. Tripathy, Aged about 26 years, R/o Naya Risda, Bhadra para, Balco Nagar, Korba, Tahsil 85 District - Korba, Chhattisgarh. (NON APPLICANT N0. 2) 4^<B.L. Tripathy, S/o Late M. 'Tripathy, R/o Naya Risda, Bhadra para, Balco Nagar, Korba, Tahsil & District - Korba, Chhattisgarh. \ '"' ."^ '^SSSSj^ S '~s£5S£3£"t^' HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR M.A.(C)No.406of2007 APPELLANTS: (Non-Applicant No.3) RESPONDENTS: (Applicant No.1) APPELLANT: (Non-Applicant N0.3) RESPONDENTS: (Applicant No.1) Insurance Company -Versus- Sukhdeo Prasad Singh & others AND M.A.(C)No.407of2C07 Insurance Company -Versus- Fekulal Rathore & others Present Shri Dashrath Gupta, counsel for the appellant. Shri Kalyan Kalamkar, counsel for respondents No.1 and 2. Sinflle Bench: Hon'ble Shri^rashant KymaNVIishra^J. ORALJUDGMENT (30-6-2011) 1. The aforesaid appeals are being disposed of by this common judgment as both the appeals are arising out oftwo claim petitions which^in turn^arose out of one common accident. 2. The impugned orders in both the appeals have been passed by the Claims Tribunal deciding the applications under Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short 'the Act') granting interim compensation of Rs.50,000/- to the claimants in each ofthe claim petitions. |3. Learned counsel for the appellant would submit that deceased Neelam I Singh and Pushpa Rathore were travelling as pillion riders along with driver Purnachandra Tripathi on Hero Honda Motorcycle bearing registration No. CG-12/Z-1824 and thus, thera is apparent breach ofterms of policy inasmuch as the motorcycle was having sitting capacity of 1+1 ''and, therefore, the Insurance Company would not be liable to satisfy the interim award. He also submits that the driver of the motorcycle was not having valid and effective driving licence and for this reason also the Insurance Company should not have been held liable to satisfy the interim award. 4 On the other hand, learned counsel for respondents No.1 and 2 has supported the impugned award. 5 The impugned order has only disposed of prayer for interim award under Section 140 of the Act. The plea regarding breach of terms of policy can only be decided after evidence is led by both the parties. Even otherwise, in any case, where a vehicle was carrying more than prescribed number of passengers and the question arises regarding fixing liability on Insurance Company when the deaths of more than pr-escribed number of passengers have taken place, the law is well settled in the matter of National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Anjana Shyam and others {(2007) 7 Supreme Court Cases 445} wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held in para-22 thus:- "Then arises the question, how to determine the compensation payable or how to quantify the compensation since there is no means of ascertaining who out of the overloaded passengers constitute the passengers covered by the insurance policy as permitted to be carried by the permit itself. As this Court has indicated, the purpose of the Act is to bring benefit to the third parties who are either injured or dead inan accident. It serves a social purpose. Keeping that in mind, we think that the practical and proper course would be to hold that the Insurance Company, in such a case, would be bound to cover the higher of the various awards and will be compelled to deposit the higher of the amounts of compensation awarded to the extent of the number of passengers covered by the insurance policy." \ e. In view of the above judgment in the matter of National Insurance Co. ^ Ltd. (Supra), the Insurance Company would be bound to cover higher of a\ Barve the various awards and will be compelled to deposit higher of the amount of compensation awardedto the extent of number of passengers covered by the Insurance Company. The said stage of fixing liability, if at all it arises, would come after trial is over and the Claims Tribunal decides full amount of compensation to which the claimants in each of the claim petitions would be entitled. Thus, at present, the grounds raised by the appellant cannot be considered. 7. The other point raised by learned counsel for the appellant with regard to driver not having a valid and effective driving licence can only be gone into after the parties are allowed to lead evidence. 8. Since the present impugned award is only an interim award, this Court is not inclined to interfere. Consequently, the appeals fail and are hereby dismissed. 9. Record ofthe Claims Tribunal be sent back immediately in both the cases. Sd/- / prashantKumarMishra