NATIONAL INSURANCE CO.LTD. RAJKOT Vs. MEETABEN LALJIBHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Briefly, by this Revision Application, the petitioner-Insurance Co. has challenged the impugned order dated 13th December 1989, (below Ex. 158 in M.A.C. Petition No.1/83) passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Rajkot, whereby its prayer for issuance of summons to D.S.P., Rajkot for production of police papers pertaining to C.R. No.49/82 of Vichhiya Police Station, came to be rejected.

(2.) According to the petitioner-Insurance Co. on 16th September 1982, more than 22 persons were travelling in the truck No.GTC-5860 between Gundala and Hingolgadh. The truck turned turtle, causing fatal injuries to several persons and injuring others. As a result, 22 claim petitions came to be filed against the insured and the petitioner-Insurance Co. before the M.A.C. Tribunal, Rajkot, stating that all of them were travelling along with their milk cans, i.e. with their goods. The petitioner-Insurance Co. filed a written statement contending that the deceased/injured were travelling in the goods vehicle as fare paying passengers and that risk of such persons travelling in the truck was not required to be covered and in fact, not covered by the policy issued. It was further contended that there is a breach of the terms and conditions of the policy and permit and hence the petitioner-Insurance Co. would not be liable to pay any compensation to the claimants. All the claim petitions have been consolidated and all the evidence is being recorded in M.A.C. T. No.1/83. Since all these matters came to be consolidated, the petitioner-Insurance Co. had filed only one application at Exh. 158. According to the petitioner-Insurance Co. the application at Exh. 158 had been filed for summoning the D.S.P., Rajkot to produce the said police papers of C.R. No.49/82 of Vinchhia Police Station pertaining to the Criminal case between the State and Memon Yunus Noor Mohmed for offences under Sections 279, 337, 338 and 504-A of the Indian Penal Code.

(3.) According to the petitioner-Insurance Co. the persons who received injury in the accident in question, had given statements belore the police in C.R. No. 49/82 of Vinchhia Police Station. According to the petitioner-Insurance Co. in certain statements the original claimants had made certain admissions contrary to the one deposed to before the Tribunal. It is for this purpose of contradicting the depositions of these claimants that the Insurance Co. had requested the production of papers of C.R.No.49/82 before the Tribunal. In this regard P.S.I. Mr. Jadeja entered the witness box and submitted a report to the effect that the said police-papers were not traceable. This application ultimately came to be dismissed by an order dated 13th December 1989, mainly on the ground that when the investigating papers of C.R. No.49/82 were not traceable, it will be futile to issue summons to the D.S.P. to come with those investigating papers.