IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA FAO No.185 of 2006 Date of decision: 11.8. 2011 New India Assurance Company Ltd. …..Appellant Versus Jagdish Chand and others. ……Respondents Coram: The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta, J. Whether approved for reporting ?No 1. For the petitioner: Mr. K.D. Sood, Advocate. For respondents : Mr. Jagdish Thakur, Advocate. No.1 and 2 For respondents: Mr. Ajay Sharma, Advocate. No.3 and 4 Deepak Gupta, J. (Oral) Only question involved in this appeal is, whether the Insurance Company has right to recover the amount of Rs.50,000/-, which it had deposited under no fault liability in terms of Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act. 2. Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that the claimants filed a claim petition on the ground that their son has died in a motor vehicle accident. The claim petition was filed in the year 1997. Issues were struck on 1 Whether the reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? Yes. - 2 - 8.9.1998 and evidence of the parties was led. On 16.6.1999, the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal directed the Insurance Company to deposit a sum of Rs.50,000/- under no fault liability. This order was challenged by the claimants by filing FAO (MVA) No.321 of 1999. This appeal was decided on 1.12.2005 and the order of the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal was held to be bad and set aside. 3. The case was sent back to the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal to decide the issue of grant of interim compensation under Section 140 and final compensation under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act. 4. Thereafter, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal on 4.2.2005, passed an award under Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act and held Insurance Company liable to pay an amount of Rs.50,000/-. This award was not challenged by the Insurance Company and thereafter final award was passed on 1.4.2006, wherein the Insurance Company was exonerated on the ground that the driver did not have a valid driving licence. However, the Tribunal also held that as far as the amount of Rs.50,000/- was concerned, the owner and driver were not liable to deposit the amount since the same - 3 - had already been deposited by the Insurance Company. 5. The interim award passed under Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act was not challenged. Even in the present appeal, the same has not been challenged and therefore, the same has attained finality. This Court in a number of cases has held that the interim award is appealable and if the same is not challenged and attained finality, then regardless of the decision taken in the final award, the party liable to pay the amount under an award passed under Section 140, cannot take benefit of the final award. In the present case, the Insurance Company cannot now take benefit of the fact that in the final award it has been exonerated. Therefore, the appeal is rejected. No order as to costs. August 11, 2011 (Deepak Gupta), (rkv) Judge