- (1.) The claimants are the appellants before this Court. The claimants filed a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The owner of the offending vehicle did not appear in the said proceedings in spite of service of summons, upon him. The insurance company appears in the said proceeding and filed written statement therein, challenging the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to entertain the said claim petition for want of territorial jurisdiction. Though, several issues were framed by the Learned Tribunal in the said proceeding but the Issue regarding the lack of territorial jurisdiction of the Tribunal to entertain the said claim petition was ultimately taken up by the Learned Tribunal as a preliminary Issue and the said issue was decided by the Learned Tribunal in favour of the insurance company. The Learned Tribunal held that the said Tribunal lacks territorial jurisdiction to entertain the said claim petition and such claim petition was rejected, but at the same time, the Learned Tribunal observed that the claim petition was to be returned to the petitioners on filing of the necessary application under Order 7 Rule 10A of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(2.) The legality and/or propriety of the said impugned order of the learned Tribunal passed on July 09, 2012 in MJC Case No. 897 of 2008 is under challenge in this appeal at the instance of the claimants.
(3.) Let us now consider as to how far, the Learned Tribunal was justified in passing the impugned order in the facts of the instant case.;