Mere Filing Of Some Report For Adding Offence Of Murder Would Not Ipso Facto Take Over The Case That Deceased Have Died Out Of Use Of Motor Vehicle: Gujarat HC Dismisses Insurance Company's Appeal
The Gujarat High Court dismissed the appeal of the insurance company while noting that the mere filing of some report for adding the offence of murder would not ipso facto take over the case that the deceased had died out of use of the motor vehicle.
In the present case, the Court proposed to dispose of two First Appeals preferred under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act by the Insurance Company after the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal partly allowed two Motor Accident Claim Petitions.
The bench of Justice JC Doshi observed, “Merely filing of some report for adding offence of murder would not ipso facto take over the case that both deceased have died out of use of motor vehicle.”
Advocate Vibhuti Nanavati appeared for the Appellant and Advocate Rituraj M Meena appeared for the Respondent.
Brief Facts-
The present case involves a truck accident in which the driver, and the cleaner, were killed when the truck's wheel ran over them. The truck's driver fled the scene, and an FIR was subsequently filed. Both families filed claim Petitions before the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal, which partly allowed the claims. Hence, the present Appeals.
The Court said that the Insurance Company though propounded a theory of murder simpliciter could not bring on record as evidence anything more than a report forwarded by the I.O. to the learned JMFC.
The Court mentioned the decision in United India Insurance Company Limited vs. Thankamma - 2011 (3) KLT 466, where according to the Court the Kerala High Court observed, “only if the dominant intention of the act of felony is to kill any particular person then alone such killing can be termed as murder simpliciter otherwise it is an accidental murder.”
Accordingly, the Court said that the Insurance Company failed to establish its case.
Finally, the Court dismissed the Appeals.