has made it clear that there is no bar in filling a claim petition where the claimants in motor accidents cases reside at the time of filing of the petition.
Hyper-technical approach in such matters can hardly be appreciated. There is absolutely no bar in filing a claim petition where the claimants reside at the time of filing of the petition. In such cases, there is absolutely no prejudice which is being caused to any party,” HC has observed.
Justice Alka Sarin passed these orders while allowing an appeal filed by parents of a Chandigarh-based young boy who had lost his life in a road accident in another state.
Claimants had challenged the October 29, 2018, orders passed by the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT), Chandigarh had dismissed their plea for accident claim on the ground of jurisdiction.
The son of the claimants, Pranav Vishal Garg, had died in a motor vehicular accident which took place on September 14, 2004, in Uttar Pradesh. He was hit by a truck. After the incident, the family had started residing in Chandigarh.
When the parents filed a petition at Chandigarh tribunal seeking claim for the accident, it was strongly contested by the insurance company and other respondents on the ground that the tribunal did not have territorial jurisdiction to entertain and try the petition. It was contested that neither the accident took place in Chandigarh nor the claimants were residing in Chandigarh.
On the basis of the pleadings of the parties and the evidence on the record, the tribunal dismissed their plea on the ground of jurisdiction
The parents had approached the HC. After hearing both the parties, the HC observed that in view of the fact that the appellants had produced ration card which was issued in Chandigarh and the tribunal has not recorded any finding regarding any prejudice being caused to the respondent, the tribunal fell in error in returning the petition. HC has remanded back the matter to Chandigarh tribunal to decide the issue a fresh within six months.
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