1 2026:CGHC:22863 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 1610 of 2019 1 - The Oriental Insurance Company Limited Through- Branch Manager, The Oriental Insurance Company Limited, Manendragarh Road, Near Ambedkar Chowk, Ambikapur, P.S. And Tahsil - Ambikapur, District- Surguja Chhattisgarh, District : Surguja (Ambikapur), Chhattisgarh ... Appellant versus 1 - Neetu Ram Singh S/o Late Ghasiram Aged About 50 Years R/o Village Morebhanj Nawapara, P.S.- Jainagar, District- Surajpur Chhattisgarh, District : Surajpur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Shubhit Kunwar W/o Neetu Singh Aged About 49 Years Occupation- Housewife, R/o Village Morebhanj Nawapara, P.S.- Jainagar, District- Surajpur Chhattisgarh, District : Surajpur, Chhattisgarh 2 3 - Raju Prasad Gupta @ Rishi Kumar S/o Late Kripa Nidhan Aged About 45 Years Caste- Halwai, R/o Village Gangapur Khurd, Gandhi Nagar, Tahsil - Ambikapur, District- Surguja Chhattisgarh, District : Surguja (Ambikapur), Chhattisgarh 4 - Raju Prasad Gupta S/o Indrabhan Gupta Aged About 30 Years R/o Village- Gopalpur, P.S.- Jainagar, Tahsil- Surajpur, District- Surajpur Chhattisgarh, District : Surajpur, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) For Appellant : Mr. H.P. Agrawal, Advocate For Respondent(s) No. 3 and 4 : Mr. C. Jayant K. Rao, Advocate SB - Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal Judgment on Board 14.05.2026 1. This appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 has been preferred by the appellant/Insurance Company challenging the impugned award dated 15/04/2019 (Annexure A/1) passed by learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ambikapur, District Surguja in Claim Case No. 121/2018 whereby compensation of 3 Rs. 7,50,400/- has been awarded in favour of the claimants and the liability of payment of compensation has been fastened upon the Insurance Company. 2. Learned counsel for the appellant/Insurance Company make a two-fold submission. Firstly, that the registration certificate of the offending vehicle had already expired on 17/02/2016 and thereafter, the accident occurred on 04/01/2018, as such, the Insurance Company ought to have been exonerated and secondly, that the driver of the offending vehicle i.e. respondent No. 3 herein did not have valid and effective driving license on the date of the accident, as such, the impugned award is liable to be set aside. 3. Learned counsel for respondents No. 3 and 4 would support the impugned award and submit that the Claims Tribunal has rightly fastened the liability of payment of compensation upon the Insurance Company, as such, the instant appeal is liable to be dismissed. 4 4. I have heard learned counsel for the parties, considered their submissions made herein-above and went through the record with utmost circumspection. 5. So far as the contention raised by learned counsel for the appellant/Insurance Company with regard to expiry of registration certificate is concerned, learned Claims Tribunal, after appreciation of oral and documentary evidence on record and considering the statement of Vinay Kumar Singh (NA.W.-3), Officer of the Insurance Company, has clearly recorded a finding that the Insurance Company has failed to prove that on the date of the accident, the offending vehicle did not have live registration certification, which is a correct finding of fact based on evidence available on record and it is neither perverse nor contrary to the record. 6. Now, with respect to the second contention raised by learned counsel for the appellant/Insurance Company qua driver of the vehicle not having valid and effective driving license on the date of the accident, learned Claims Tribunal has also considered all the evidence 5 available on record and has recorded a clear-cut finding in paragraph 19 of the impugned award that the Insurance Company has failed to prove that the driver did not have valid and effective license on the date of the accident. I do not find any merit in this appeal. 7. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed leaving the parties to bear their own cost(s). Sd/- (Sanjay K. Agrawal) Judge Harneet