Learned advocate for the applicants seeks leave to delete opponent No.2 who is the driver of the vehicle. Permission is granted. Name of opponent No.2 stands deleted in the cause title of this application.
Rule. Service of rule is waived. At the request of the learned advocates for the parties, this application is taken up for hearing today.
Heard learned advocates for the parties.
This application is filed by the original applicants of Motor Accident Claims Petition No.340 of 1992, pending before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Bhuj. The applicants have submitted that the accident has taken place within the territorial jurisdiction of Bhuj District and, therefore, the claim petition was filed at Bhuj. It is further submitted that, on coming into force the Amendment under Section 166 (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a claim petition shall be filed in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the applicants reside. In view of Section 166(2), the applicants have prayed that Motor Accident Claims Petition No. 340 of 1992 pending before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Bhuj, may be transferred to the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Surendranagar.
Mr. P.K. Jani, learned advocate appearing on behalf of the opponent No.1, has opposed this application for transfer. In his submission, the amendment came into force with effect from 14th November 1994 whereas the Motor Accident Claim Petition No.340 of 1992 was filed in the year 1992 and, therefore, the amendment cannot have retrospective effect.
In my opinion, this submission is devoid of any merit. This amendment was made in the Statute for the benefit of the applicants. Moreover, this amendment is in the form of procedural one and, therefore, it can be made applicable with retrospective effect. Further, the applicants have stated in their application that the main bread-winner of the family is no more, and there is nobody to look after the family of the applicants. It is not in dispute that the applicants reside in Surendranagar District. It would, therefore, cause great hardship and financial burden for the applicants to travel to and fro between Surendranagar and Bhuj to attend the hearing of the claim petition at Bhuj. Therefore, in my view, there is substance in this application for transfer of the claim petition as prayed for.
In the result, this application is allowed. It is directed that Motor Accident Claims Petition No. 340 of 1992 filed and pending in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bhuj, be transferred to the file of Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Surendranagar. Rule is made absolute accordingly with no order as to costs.
September 24, 1996(M.H. Kadri, J.) (swamy)