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2025 DAILYLAW 45939 (CHH)

CHOLAMANDALAM M.S. GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED v. BHARTI KEWAT

CR/224/2024 · 2025-03-26

Shri Deepak Kumar Tiwari

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Judgment text

Extracted from the PDF above. The PDF is authoritative.

1 2025:CGHC:14538 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CR No. 224 of 2024 1 - Cholamandalam M.S. General Insurance Company Limited, Through Its Legal Manager, Present And Correct Address- Cholamandalam M.S. General Insurance Company Limited, Main Road Near Vinayak Netralaya, Vyapar Vihar, Tahsil And District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. (Insurer) ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - Bharti Kewat W/o Late Kashi Prasad Kewat, Aged About 26 Years 2 - Kamlesh Kumar S/o Late Kashi Prasad Kewat, Aged About 4 Years 3 - Khushi Kumari D/o Late Kashi Prasad Kewat, Aged About 2 Years Respondents 2 & 3 being Minor Represented Through Mother Respondent No. 1 Bharti Kewat 4 - Smt. Sundar Bai W/o Santram Kewat, Aged About 43 Years 5 - Santram Kewat S/o Bitai Yadav, Aged About 53 Years All are R/o Mukta Thana, Tahsil Jaijaipur, District Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh. (Claimants) SHYNA AJAY Digitally signed by SHYNA AJAY Date: 2025.03.26 15:29:04 +0530 2 6 - Nagesh Kumar Sahu S/o Durga Prasad Sahu R/o Semra Bazar Para, Ward No. 14, Singhari, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. (Driver Of Vehicle Motor Cycle Bearing No. C.G.-10 B.G. 3866) 7 - Budhram Sahu S/o Ramadhar Sahu R/o Subhash Chowk, Chingrajpara, Thana Sarkanda, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. (Owner Of Vehicle Motor Cycle Bearing No. C.G.-10 B.G. 3866) ... Respondent(s) (Cause Title download from CIS Periphery) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Sourabh Sharma and Ms. Harneet Kaur Khanuja, Advocates For Respondent(s) : Mr. Anand Kesharwani, Advocate SB.: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Deepak Kumar Tiwari Order On Board 26/03/2025 1. This Revision has been filed challenging the order dated 10.10.2024 passed in MACT No.39/2024 by the First Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Jangjir, District Janjgir-Champa (C.G.), whereby, the application preferred by the applicant/Insurance Company under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC was dismissed. 2. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the provisions of Section 5 of the Limitation Act are not applicable to the proceedings under the Motor Vehicles Act. However, the Tribunal has proceeded with the matter by allowing the application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, which is not maintainable. He submits that as per Section 166 (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, there is a limitation of 3 six months for preferring a Claim Petition and there is no provision for condonation of delay or extension of time for filing the said Claim Petition. Hence, the Tribunal should not have condoned the delay. Learned counsel further submits that subject issue is pending adjudication in the matter of Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited vs. Shreelakshmi T & Others in Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s).9152/2023, wherein, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has granted stay in favour of the Insurance Company. It is further submitted that the High Court of Kerala has also taken a view in the matter of Akshay Raj vs. Ministry of Law and Legislative Department, 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 50, that the delay is condonable. However, the said order has also been challenged before the Supreme Court in SLP (Civil) Diary No.23834/2023 and the said matter is pending consideration before the Supreme Court. 3. In the matter of Malrawan vs. Praveen Travels reported in 2023 SCC Online Madras 5467, the Madras High Court has taken a view that in view of the provision contained under Section 159 of the Motor Vehicles Act, once it is incumbent upon the Police to forward the First Accident Report (FAR) and Detailed Accident Report (DAR) to the Claims Tribunal, the said report can also be treated to be a Claim Petition in terms of Section 166 (4) of the Motor Vehicles Act. Therefore, mere pendency of matters before the Supreme Court concerning applicability of the Limitation Act would not be a sufficient ground to interfere in the matter. 4 4. In the matter of Akshay Raj (supra), the Kerala High Court has also considered the effect of Annexure XIII to Central Motor Vehicles Rules as also the aspect of statutory liability to submit the DAR. 5. Since the issue concerning delay in filing the Claim Petition under Section 166 (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act and the mandatory requirement of submission of DAR before the Claims Tribunal by the Police has been raised before the Supreme Court, which was decided by the Kerala High Court in Akshay Raj (supra), the present Revision is disposed of directing the Claims Tribunal concerned not to pass final award in Claim Petitions pending before it till the aforesaid issues are decided conclusively by the Supreme Court. 6. The Tribunal is further directed to reconsider the application and pass a fresh order after adjudication of the issue(s), which is pending consideration before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Sd/- (Deepak Kumar Tiwari) Judge Shyna