Both counter and rejoinder affidavits have been filed today. They may be kept on record.
Heard Sri Nigamendra Shukla, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Saurabh Srivastava, learned counsel for the Respondent No.10 and the learned Standing Counsel for the State Authorities.
This writ petition has been filed with a prayer that the order dated 18.11.2019 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ghaziabad be quashed by which the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, which was a party in the claim petition, had been deleted from the array of the parties. A further prayer has been made that the order dated 19.10.2020 be also quashed by which the application of the petitioner dated 05.02.2020 had been rejected wherein the petitioner had prayed for arraying the Respondent No.10 i.e. Reliance General Insurance Company Limited as an opposite party in the claim petition.
No notice is being sent to the Respondent Nos.2 to 8 as their interests have not been affected by the orders impugned. Also, their interests would in no manner be affected by the order which is now being passed in the writ petition.
Brief facts of the case are that when an accident took place on 04.03.2015 of a Wagon-R car bearing Vehicle No.UP16AT6753 and a Claim Petition was filed by the Respondent Nos.2 to 8, the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited was made a party. However, when the petitioner had come to know that in fact insurance of the vehicle had been done by the ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited then he had prayed for the impleadment of the ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited as a party by means of an application dated 11.09.2019. It has stated that while the petitioner had prayed for the impleadment of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, he had not prayed for the deletion of the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited from the array of the parties. It has been submitted that however when the application dated 11.09.2019 was decided, the ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited though was made a party, the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited was deleted from the array of the parties. However, subsequently when it dawned on the petitioner that in fact the alleged vehicle was insured by the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited then an application was filed on 05.02.2020 wherein the petitioner had prayed for impleadment of the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited in the array of the parties. This application when came to be rejected by the order impugned dated 19.10.2020, the instant writ petition has been filed.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner when had come to know that in fact the insurance of the alleged vehicle was done by Reliance General Insurance Company Limited and not by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited then he had moved the application and the Tribunal ought to have impleaded the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited as a party in the case as it was a necessary party.
However, in reply Sri Saurabh Srivastava, learned counsel appearing for the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited has submitted that when earlier Reliance General Insurance Company Limited was a party to the claim petition then all evidence had been led and it was found that in fact the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited was not required to be there as a party. He further submits that the insurance of the alleged vehicle took place on 22.03.2015 whereas the accident had actually taken place on 04.03.2015. In this regard, he submits that various oral evidence was also led.
Having heard the learned counsel for the parties, this Court is of the view that the impleadment of Reliance General Insurance Company Limited would not make any difference to the merits of the case. All evidence, which has been led by the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited earlier and all evidence, which shall hereinafter be led by the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, shall be taken into account and only thereafter the Tribunal shall decide the claim petition. Needless to say that the Claim Petition shall be decided on the basis of the pleadings and the oral evidence which had been and which would be led by all concerned.
Under such circumstances, the order dated 19.10.2020 by which the application of the petitioner dated 05.02.2020 was rejected, is quashed. Further a mandamus is issued that the Claim Tribunal to implead the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited as a party and thereafter decide the claim petition within a period of four months from the date of presentation of a copy of this order. Copy of this order would be duly certified by the petitioner's counsel.
With these observations/directions, the writ petition stands partly allowed.
Order Date :- 26.8.2021 Siddhant