P.N. Ravindran,J.
The appellants are respondents 1 and 2 in O.P.(MV) No.989 of 2005 on the file of the Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Thrissur. They are the owner and driver respectively of a motor cycle bearing registration No.KL 8AA 3678. It was involved in an accident that took place at 8.20 p.m. on 25.10.2004 in which, the first respondent herein, the claimant before the Tribunal sustained injuries. Before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, the appellants did not produce evidence to prove that the second appellant who was admittedly driving the motor cycle possessed a valid driving licence. On that ground, notwithstanding the fact that the motor cycle was covered by a valid policy of insurance, the Tribunal accepted the plea of the insurer that there is a breach of the policy conditions and therefore, it has no liability to indemnify the insured. However, the Tribunal directed the insurer to pay the amount of compensation awarded by it and permitted the insurer to recover the amount paid by it under the award, from the appellants. In this appeal, the appellants I.A No.2656 of 2014 & M.A.C.A. No.2323 of 2014 2 challenge the award of the Motor Accident Tribunal to the extent it permits the insurer to recover the amount of compensation paid by it from them.
2. The appellants have along with the appeal filed I.A. No.2655 of 2014 to receive into evidence the original of the driving licence held by the second appellant. They have also produced along with the said application, the driving licence particulars issued under the Right to Information Act, 2005 by the Regional Transport Officer, Thrissur. The appellants have stated that as the second appellant possessed a valid driving licence on the date of the accident, the original of the licence may be received into evidence on the side of the appellant.
3. We have perused the driving licence in original produced as Annexure -A1 along with I.A. No.2655 of 2014 as also the driving licence particulars. It shows that on 26.9.1998, the licensing authority at Coimbatore in the State of Tamilnadu had issued a driving licence to the second appellant authorising him to drive a motor cycle. That licence was later transferred to the State of Kerala and the original of Annexure - A1 was issued to him by the Assistant Licensing Authority, Thrissur. The said licence bears the photograph of the second appellant and contains the same address as given in the cause title of O.P.(MV) No.989 of 2005. The said licence is valid till 24.04.2015. The accident in the instant case took place on 25.10.2004. The vehicle involved in the accident was a motor cycle. Therefore the conclusion is I.A No.2656 of 2014 & M.A.C.A. No.2323 of 2014 3 inescapable that as on the date of the accident, the second appellant possessed a valid driving licence. In such circumstances, we deem it appropriate to allow I.A. No.2655 of 2014 and receive the documents produced along with it into additional evidence. Relying on the very same documents, we also deem it appropriate to modify the award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal which is under challenge in the instant appeal by vacating the permission granted to the second respondent insurer to recover the amount paid by it pursuant thereto, from the appellants.
We accordingly allow the appeal, modify the award passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in O.P.(MV) No.989 of 2005 and vacate the permission granted by the Tribunal to the second respondent herein to recover the amount of compensation paid by it pursuant to the award from the appellants. The award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal shall stand in all other respects. Consequently, the appellants will be entitled to obtain refund of the sum of Rs.25,000/- deposited by them in the the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal on 28.11.2014.
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P.N. RAVINDRAN, JUDGE Sd/-
P.B.SURESH KUMAR, JUDGE //True copy// P.A. To Judge smv