- (1.) THESE two civil miscellaneous appeals under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act (the Act for short), one filed by the 2nd respondent -insurance company and the other by the claimants arise out of an award dated 13.12.2013 of the learned Chairman, Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal -cum -XIV Additional Chief Judge (Fast Track Court), City Civil Court, Hyderabad. Therefore, both the appeals are heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.
(2.) THE parties in these appeals shall hereinafter be referred to as the claimants, the owner -cum -insured of the crime vehicle and the insurance company for convenience and clarity.
(3.) I have heard the submissions of the learned counsel for the claimants and the learned counsel for the insurance company. None appeared for the owner/insured as no notice was served on him; and both the learned counsel had stated that in these appeals, no notice is necessary to the said respondent, in view of the Division Bench judgment of this Court in Meka Chakra Rao v. Yelubandi Babu Rao @ Reddemma and others, 2001 1 ALT 495. I shall first advert to the contentions of both the sides in these two appeals to underscore the scope and ambit of the contentions and then precisely deal with the relevant issues involved in the appeals.;