- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Interpretation and/or application of Section 166(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for the sake of brevity) in regard to territorial jurisdiction of a Tribunal is the question involved herein. The said question arises in the following factual matrix.
(3.) Appellant had been travelling as a passenger in a bus, bearing registration No. MP-04-7915, belonging to Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation. It met with an accident in the town of Faridpur in the District of Uttar Pradesh having collided with truck bearing No. HR-38-E-5554. Appellant suffered grievous injuries. A First Information Report was lodged against the driver of the said truck under Sections 279, 338 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code. Indisputably the said truck belonged to respondent No. 2 and was registered at Faridabad. It was insured with respondent No. 1-company. Appellant was working as a skilled migrant seasonal agricultural labourer. He had been earning his livelihood at the relevant time by performing his job as a labourer in the work of extracting sand gravel from a river named 'Hola River' near Beri Pada, Lalkuan, Distt. Nainital, Uttaranchal. He is said to have been living for a long time at Pilibhit in the State of Uttar Pradesh. Indisputably, after he remained in the district Hospital at Bareilly as an indoor patient upto 28th July, 2003, he was shifted to Prabhakar Hospital in Pilibhit. He underwent several operations.;