HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No. - 277 of 2003 Court No. - 54 HON'BLE ANIL KUMAR-X, J. 1. Heard learned counsel for appellant-Insurance Company and learned counsel appearing for respondent nos.1 to 5/claimants. 2. As per office report, notices were issued to respondent no.6, owner of the offending vehicle. However, neither undelivered cover nor any acknowledgement has been received back. Hence, in view of the office report, the service of notice upon the respondent no.6 is held sufficient. 3. This appeal has been preferred by the appellant-Insurance Company against the judgment and award dated 7.11.2002 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in M.A.C.P. No. 246 of 2002 (Smt. Sushila and others vs. Sajia Rahman and another), whereby a total compensation of Rs. 2,86,500/- along with interest at the rate of 8% per annum has been awarded in favour of the respondents-claimants. 4. The sole contention advanced by learned counsel for the appellant- Insurance Company is that the offending vehicle bearing Registration No. UP 15-0961 was not insured on the date of the accident. It is submitted that the accident took place on 25.06.1998 at about 01:15 P.M., whereas the insurance policy was issued/renewed on the same day at 03:30 P.M. According to learned counsel for the appellant, the insurance policy, having come into existence subsequent to the occurrence, would not cover the accident which had already taken place. It is, therefore, contended that the offending vehicle was not insured at the time of the accident and, Versus Counsel for Appellant(s) : Dharmendra Kumar, Manish Goyal(Senior Adv.) Counsel for Respondent(s) : Kamla Kant Dwivedi, Manoj Kumar Dhuriya, P.K. Srivastava, Sunil Kumar Shukla Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. .....Appellant(s) Smt. Sushila And Others .....Respondent(s) consequently, the finding of the Tribunal fastening liability upon the appellant-Insurance Company to satisfy the award is unsustainable and liable to be set aside. 5. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondents-claimants has submitted that no specific time has been mentioned on the cover note of the insurance policy. It is, therefore, contended that, in the absence of any stipulation specifying the time from which the policy was to take effect, the policy would be deemed to have commenced from the previous midnight. In support of the said submission, reliance has been placed upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in New India Assurance Company Limited v. Ram Dayal and others, (1990) 2 SCC 680. It is, accordingly, submitted that the finding recorded by the Tribunal fastening liability upon the appellant-Insurance Company does not call for any interference. 6. I have considered the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties and perused the impugned judgment and award. 7. It is not in dispute that the accident took place on 25.06.1998 at about 01:15 P.M. and that the insurance policy in respect of the offending vehicle was also issued on the same date. However, there is no cogent evidence on record to establish that the insurance policy was issued either before or after the occurrence of the accident. In the present case, in the absence of any specific stipulation in the policy or cover note indicating the precise time from which the insurance coverage was to commence, the insurance policy issued on 25.06.1998, whatever may be case, would be deemed to have been effective from the previous midnight as has been held by Hon'ble Supreme Court in Ram Dayal (supra). 8. Consequently, the contention raised by learned counsel for the appellant that the offending vehicle was not insured at the time of the accident is devoid of merit and cannot be accepted. 9. Accordingly, the finding recorded by the Tribunal fastening liability upon the appellant-Insurance Company to satisfy the award calls for no interference. 10. The appeal is, accordingly, dismissed. The judgment and award dated FAFO No. 277 of 2003 2 7.11.2002 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal is hereby affirmed. September 30, 2026 SK FAFO No. 277 of 2003 3 (Anil Kumar-X,J.) Digitally signed by :- SUSHEEL KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad