Legal provisions involved: Section 173 (1) of Motor Vehicle Act, 1988
Judgment by: The Karnataka High Court
Judge: P Shree Sudha
Facts
Suresh who is an auto-rickshaw driver was hit on 22/12/2013 by a speeding motorcycle which was coming from the wrong direction near Vaishnavi Petrol Pump. Due to this hit he suffered fractures and got treated at a hospital at Solapur. He filed a case before the MACT Court asking for ₹10 lakhs as compensation. But the Tribunal rejected his claim.
Key legal provisions
Issues raised
Whether the Tribunal was right in rejecting the claim, and did the mismatch in details and delays make the case doubtful?
Arguments of the case
The insurance company said that the accident story did not match the documents. The complaint was given after 24 days, and the accident date was written differently in different papers. Even the medical record had a different MLC number. They also argued that the accident happened in Maharashtra, so filing the case in Karnataka was wrong. They further said that the bike was added later just to claim money.
Judgement
The High Court noticed a lot of mistakes and differences in the complaint, police documents, and medical documents. The delay in filing the complaint was also not explained. The court felt that the bike might have been falsely added to the case later. So, the High Court upheld the Tribunal’s decision and rejected the appeal.
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