lpa215.10 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO.215 OF 2010 IN WRIT PETITION NO.5770 OF 2010 1) Bharthibai w/o Kishanrao Pawar, Age-62 years, Occu:Household, R/o-Maski, Tq-Loha, Dist-Nanded. 2) Kishanrao s/o Kondiba Pawar, Age-68 years, Occu:Agri., R/o-Maski, Tq-Loha, Dist-Nanded. ...APPELLANT. VERSUS 1) Ramprasad s/o Gopikishan Toshniwal Age-Major, Occu:Transport Business, R/o-Vazirabad, Dist-Nanded, 2) The Manager, The National Insurance Company Ltd., Naginaghat Road, Nanded, 3) Pandurang s/o Raosaheb Kadam, Age-Major, Occu:Transport Business, R/o-Sawargaon (Narsat), Tq-Loha, Dist-Nanded, 4) The Branch Manager, The National Insurance Company Ltd., Naginghat Road, Nanded ...RESPONDENTS. lpa215.10 2 ... Shri.Vaibhav B. Dhage Advocate for Appellants. None present for Respondent No.1 though served. Shri.Ajit Kadethankar Advocate for Respondent No.2 and 4. ... CORAM: NARESH H. PATIL AND T.V. NALAWADE, JJ. DATE : 26TH AUGUST, 2011. ORAL JUDGMENT [PER NARESH H. PATIL, J.] : 1. The learned counsel for the Appellants seeks leave to delete the Respondent No.3 from the array of Respondents as he is formal party. Leave granted. None appears for Respondent No.1 inspite of notice of final hearing. 2. Heard. Admit. The Appeal is taken up for final hearing by consent of the learned counsel for the respective parties. 3. The Appellants are original claimants in lpa215.10 3 Motor Accident Claim Petition No.159 of 1998. The Petition was filed before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Nanded. The said Petition came to be dismissed for default by an order dated 11th April, 2002. According to the learned counsel of the Appellants, thereafter the Appellants preferred restoration application, which was filed before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kandhar. The matter came to be restored by the order passed the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kandhar on 23rd August, 2008, but later on the Tribunal recalled the order of restoration on 5th March, 2010. The Appellants challenged the said order by filing Writ Petition No.5770 of 2010. By an order dated 2nd July, 2010, the learned Single Judge of this Court dismissed the Writ Petition, hence the present Letters Patent Appeal is filed. 4. Learned counsel for the Appellants submits that inadvertently the Appellants filed restoration application before the Motor Accident lpa215.10 4 Claims Tribunal, Kandhar under impression that the jurisdiction in respect of the entertainment of motor accident claim cases was transferred from Kandhar Court to Nanded Court. There was no intention on the part of the Appellants to mislead the Court or deliberately delay the hearing of the matter. It is submitted that it is a claim petition and in case it is dismissed without opportunity of hearing, then the Appellants would suffer irreparable loss. 5. Learned counsel appearing for Respondent Nos.2 and 4 -National Insurance Company Ltd., fairly submits that the facts stated by the learned counsel for the Appellants are not disputed. The counsel submits that Appellants ought to have taken abundant precaution and care in approaching appropriate Court in respect of restoration of the matter. 6. We have considered facts of the case. We lpa215.10 5 find that the Appellants were claimants in respect of accident wherein they lost their son. Considering the facts of the case, we find that there was no intention on the part of the Appellants to mislead the Court or delay the hearing of the matter by approaching the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kandhar. The learned counsel for the Appellants further submits that the accident took place on Nanded-Loha road. Considering the jurisdiction of the Court, the subject matter would fall within the jurisdiction of the Court at Kandhar. 7. In the light of the submissions advanced, we find that the Appellants are required to be given appropriate opportunity to contest the claim on merits. Hence the Letters Patent Appeal is allowed. Impugned order dated 2nd July, 2010 passed in Writ Petition No.5770 of 2010 is quashed and set aside, so also the order dated 5th March, 2010 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, lpa215.10 6 Kandhar is quashed and set aside. The Motor Accident Claim Petition No.159 of 1998 is restored to the file. We direct the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kandhar to expeditiously dispose of the matter on its own merits. No costs. [T.V. NALAWADE, J.] [NARESH H. PATIL, J.] asb/AUG11