1996 (5) TMI 417

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....ient till 27.9.1991. Because of the accident the appellant became permanently disabled, as his left leg above thigh and hip had been fractured. He also lost his services as a Driver. The claim petition for compensation was filed before the Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Badwah (hereinafter referred to as the 'Tribunal') on 7.12.1991 along with an application for condonation of delay which was of four days only. The Tribunal by its order dated 18.11.1993 condoned the delay in filing the claim petition. The validity of the said order was challenged by the respondent before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. The High Court by its order dated 31.7.1995 set aside the order of the Tribunal aforesaid condoning the de....

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....cause from making the application in time." The Act which repealed the earlier Motor Vehicles Act of 1939 came in force w.e.f. 1.7.1989. The new Act prescribed a period of limitation for filing the claim petition in sub-section (3) of Section 166. Said subsection provided: "No application for such compensation shall be entertained unless it is made within six months of the occurrence of the accident. Provided that the Claims Tribunal may entertain the application after the expiry of the said period of six months but not later than twelve months, if it is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application in time." According to the High Court, as proviso to sub-section (3) of Se....

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.... victims are hospitalized for months if not for years. In the present. case itself the applicant claims that he met with the accident on 4.12.1990 and he was being treated as an indoor patient till 27.9.1991. According to us, in its wisdom the Parliament, rightly thought that prescribing a period of limitation and restricting the power of Tribunal to entertain any claim petition beyond the period of twelve months from the date of the accident was harsh, inequitable and in many cases was likely to cause injustice to the claimants. The present case is a glaring example where the appellant has been deprived by the order of the High Court from claiming the compensation because of delay of only four days in preferring the claim petition. In t....

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....titions cannot be thrown out on the ground that such claim petitions were barred by time when sub-section (3) of Section 166 was in force. It need not be impressed that Parliament from time to time has introduced amendments in the old Act as well as in the new Act in order to protect the interest of the victims of the accidents and their heirs if the victims die. One such amendment has been introduced in the Act by the aforesaid Amendment Act 54 of 1994 by substituting sub-section (6) of Section 158 which provides: "As soon as any information regarding any accident involving death or bodily injury to any person is recorded or report under this section is completed by a police officer, the officer incharge of the police station shal....

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....been pursuing from Tribunal to this Court. His right to get compensation in connection with the accident in question is being resisted by the respondents on the ground of delay in filling the same. If he had not filed any petition for claim till 14.11.1994 in respect of the accident which took place on 4.12.1990, tn view of the Amending Act he became entitled to file such claim petition, the period of limitation having been deleted, the claim petition which has been filed and is being pursued upto this Court cannot be thrown out on the ground of limitation. The matter will be different if any claimant having filed a petition for claim beyond time which has been rejected by the Tribunal or the High Court, the claimant does not challenge t....