Petitioner has obtained an award from the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Pathanamthitta in O.P.(MV) 202/1997. During execution stage the Judgment debtor, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation has produced Ext. P3 award by contending that the petitioner had already obtained an earlier award in O.P.(MV)260/1997 and that too settled through Lok Adalath on 30/01/1999, and therefore Ext. P1 is not executable. Petitioner filed a review petition before the claims Tribunal as I.A.No.2510 of 2001 to review the order in O.P.(MV)260/1997 which ended in dismissal by Ext. P4 order on the ground that since the matter is settled before the Lok Adalath, the Tribunal has no jurisdiction and rightly so.
2. The counsel relied upon the judgment in Appi Pennu Vs Kalyambi Nanan in 1984 KLT 763 to contend W.P.C.No.176 OF 2009 -2- that when there are two judgments in the matter, the later judgment has to be taken into consideration. I do not think that the facts involved in this case has any relationship to the facts as stated in Appi Pennu Vs. Kalyambi Nanan's case. The present case involves filing of two applications. What ever be the circumstances, under which such applications came to be filed, in one application an order was passed as early as on 30/01/1999. Even if, it is the contention of the petitioner that he was totally unaware of the filing of O.P. (MV)260/1997, that will not help the petitioner in ignoring the order passed by the Lok Adalat. Since the petitioner himself admits the fact that there is a fraud played on the petitioner by the 2nd respondent, it is open for the petitioner to take appropriate proceedings in that regard.
3. The relief prayed in the above writ petition is to quash Ext. P2 which in fact is a copy of the O.P.(MV) 260/1997 which lead to Ext. P3 award. In the light of what is stated above the challenge to Ext.P3 award cannot be sustained. It is open for the petitioner to execute Ext. P3 W.P.C.No.176 OF 2009 -3- award, since Ext. P1 award can be termed only as a nullity in the eye of law.
The writ petition is disposed of as above.
A.M.SHAFFIQUE, JUDGE.
ds