HIGH COURT RULES Motor Vehicles Act applies to every situation where vehicle registered in India, and taken to a foreign country, meets with an accident
The Punjab and CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that if Indian citizens who hire the services of an Indian tour operator -using a vehicle registered in India -and unfortunately, meet with an accident on foreign land, their next of kin can approach the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in India for the claim of compensation and foreign law would be inapplicable in such cases.
The bench headed by Justice K Kannan issued the directions while setting aside the order of a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.
The tribunal, in its order, had stated that a tribunal constituted under the Motor Vehicles Act can hear and dispose of cases only in respect of accidents that take place within the limits of India, to which the provisions of the Act are extended.
While passing the said order, the tribunal had rejected the claim of compensation to the accident victims who had hired a tour operator's service from Karnal in Haryana for pilgrimage to Haridwar, Ayodhya, Jagannath Puri and Nepal. The operator operated the tour and the bus, in the course of transit at Kathmandu, fell into Trishuli river resulting in death of 54 pilgrims by drowning.
Challenging the tribunal's order, Sona Devi, wife of Birbal, one of the victims, had knocked the doors of the High Court.
Justice Kannan, in his order, mentioned that the Motor Vehicles Act which provides for taking vehicles registered in India outside the country and for provision for issuance of permits on reciprocal basis must be assumed to be aware of situations such as these vehicles being involved in an accident outside India.
“Section 165 of the Act, when makes reference to adjudication of claims relating to motor accidents, must be understood as covering every situation where a vehicle registered in India and being taken to a foreign country runs into an accident,“ read the orders.
The bench, in this case, discarded the foreign country's jurisdiction, observing the fact that claimants, defendants and the insurer all were in India. Bench cites Bhopal tragedy The HC bench gave the example of the Bhopal gas tragedy where the accident took place in India and the trial jurisdiction was invoked in the US as the factory was owned and controlled by an American parent company. Justice Kannan mentioned that the American court directed that the case go back to India as the evidence was to be recorded in India as the majority of persons involved in the accident were poor and could not travel to a foreign country.
