The Oriental Insurance Co.Ltd vs Mast.Sandeep Sunder Kolhe Through Next Friend Nivruti D.Koolhe And Ors

2026:BHC-AS:19247
HMK 01. FAST-35338-2012.doc

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
FIRST APPEAL (ST.) NO. 35338 OF 2012
The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., )
7, J. J. Road, Mumbai-20. ) ….Appellant
Digitally
signed by
SAYYED
SAEED ALI
AHMED ALI
Date:
2026.04.23
13:38:15
+0530
SAYYED
SAEED
ALI
AHMED
ALI
Versus
1. Mast. Sandeep Sunder Kolhe, )
Through Next Friend )
Nivruti D. Koolhe )
R/a. Yadav Chawl No.2, Room No.6, )
Katkipada, Dahisar (E), )
Mumbai-400068. )
2. M/s. International Education Society, )
nd th
Megha, 2 Floor, 9 Carter Road, )
Borivali (E), Mumbai-400066. ) .…Respondents
WITH
CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1875 OF 2013
WITH
CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1876 OF 2013
IN
FIRST APPEAL (ST.) NO. 35338 OF 2012
The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., )
7, J. J. Road, Mumbai-20. ) ….Applicant/Appellant
Versus
1. Mast. Sandeep Sunder Kolhe, )
Through Next Friend )
Nivruti D. Koolhe )
R/a. Yadav Chawl No.2, Room No.6, )
Katkipada, Dahisar (E), )
Mumbai-400068. )
2. M/s. International Education Society, )
nd th
Megha, 2 Floor, 9 Carter Road, )
Borivali (E), Mumbai-400066. )
1 of 7
::: Uploaded on - 23/04/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 23/04/2026 14:37:27 :::

HMK 01. FAST-35338-2012.doc

3. Narayan Dhyani of Kanta Garage, )
Dattapada Road, Borivali (E), )
Mumbai-66. ) .…Respondents
__________________________________________________________________
Mr. Devendranath S. Joshi (through V. C.) for the Appellants/Applicants.
None for the Respondents.
__________________________________________________________________
CORAM : JITENDRA JAIN, J.
nd
DATED : 22 APRIL 2026
JUDGMENT :
1. There is a delay in filing the appeal. For the reasons stated in the
Civil Application, the delay is condoned.
2. Admit. By consent, taken up for final hearing.
3. This appeal is filed by the Insurance Company to challenge order
th
dated 19 October, 2011 passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal,
Mumbai (Tribunal), whereby, Rs.74,422/- was awarded to the original
applicant on account of accidental injuries sustained by him in a accident
th
which took place on 19 October, 1996. This appeal for Rs.74,000/- had to
wait for 15 years to come up for admission.
4. I have heard Mr. Joshi, learned counsel for the Insurance Company.
5. The primary contention of the Insurance Company is that the
th
accident occurred on 19 October, 1996, whereas the policy had expired on
th
26 August, 1996. It is his submission that on the date when the accident
occurred, the policy had lapsed and, therefore, no liability can be imposed
upon the Insurance Company.
2 of 7
::: Uploaded on - 23/04/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 23/04/2026 14:37:27 :::

HMK 01. FAST-35338-2012.doc

6. On the above contention, the Tribunal had framed issue no.2 which
has been elaborately discussed in paragraphs 16 to 27 of the impugned
order. The Tribunal has given a finding that the Insurance Company has
failed to prove that the vehicle was not insured with them, but on the
contrary, the evidence led by the Insurance Company and the Regional
Transport Office (RTO), which was produced by the applicant shows that
the vehicle was validly insured. I do not propose to reproduce paragraphs
16 to 27, but suffice to say that the Tribunal has considered each and every
evidence before giving its finding that the Insurance Company has failed to
prove the vehicle was not insured. Nothing has been produced before me to
show that these findings of facts given by the Tribunal are contrary to the
material on record. I agree with the reasoning in paragraphs 16 to 27 of the
impugned order for rejecting the contention of the Insurance Company that
the vehicle was not insured.
7. I, therefore, uphold the order of the Tribunal and dismiss the appeal
filed by the Insurance Company.
8. Before parting, I wish to express my views on the forum of
adjudication of the appeal filed to challenge the orders passed by the
Tribunal. The appeal under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 from the order of
the Tribunal lies to the High Court. The provisions relating to compensation
to be paid under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is to ensure that the
claimants get their compensation when there is a need which results into
injury or death. It is known fact that the claimants do not get the
compensation immediately on the date of the accident, but have to file their
claim before the Tribunal. Because of the huge pendency, the Tribunal takes
alteast 5 to 7 years for disposing the original petition and even after
disposing of the petition, the claimants do not see the colour of the
compensation, since the orders passed by the Tribunal are subject to
3 of 7
::: Uploaded on - 23/04/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 23/04/2026 14:37:27 :::

HMK 01. FAST-35338-2012.doc

challenge by filing an appeal to the High Court.
9. When the appeals are filed in the High Court, an interim application
is made for withdrawing the amount which the Insurance Company
deposits with the Tribunal. Generally, these applications are disposed of by
permitting withdrawal of 50% of the amount. This is the first time when
the claimants sees the colour of the compensation after almost 7 to 8 years
of the incident, by which time, the whole purpose of granting compensation
gets frustrated. The huge pendency in the High Court results in these
appeals being disposed of after atleast 8 to 10 years from the date of filing.
This again results into severe prejudice to the claimants. Most of the claims
involved in these appeals filed in the High Court runs into few lakhs only.
Almost 97% of the appeals involves amount less than Rs.10 lakhs. Similarly,
99% of the appeals under the Railways Act, 1989 are preferred by victims
and maximum amount of compensation is only Rs.8 lakhs.
10. In answer to starred question no. *263 raised in the Rajya Sabha on
th
17 March, 2026, it was stated by the Department of Financial Services
under the Ministry of Finance that during the financial year 2024-25,
10,73,020 claims were pending before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal
involving whopping Rs.96,257/- crores. In my view, atleast 30-40% of these
claims, if not more, would be challenged in appeal which would be close to
5,00,000 involving atleast 40,000 crores. These figures do justify setting up
of specialised Appellate Tribunal to deliver timely and speedy justice, which
is the constitutional right of the claimants. Appeals from orders of the
Appellate Forum should meet very high standard for interference by the
Superior Court.
11. In the State of Maharashtra itself, around 86,000 original petitions
are pending before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal as of April 2026 and
4 of 7
::: Uploaded on - 23/04/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 23/04/2026 14:37:27 :::

HMK 01. FAST-35338-2012.doc

around 18,000 appeals are pending before the Bombay High Court, 12,500
appeals before the Andhra Pradesh High Court, 14,500 appeals before the
Telangana High Court, 34,000 appeals before the Kerala High Court, etc.
These figures do justify taking steps to constitute specialised Appellate
Tribunal for speedy disposal, if not quick disposal. Similar figures with
regard to appeals under the Railways Act, 1989 reinforces justification for
setting up the Appellate Forum.
12. The Hon’ble Supreme Court also in the case of Rasmita Biswal & Ors.
1
vs. Divisional Manager, National Insurance Company Limited & Anr. had
expressed similar views in paragraphs 18 and 19 which are reproduced
herein :-
18. Before parting with the judgment, we may notice that a large
number of claim petitions, under the provisions of the Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988 are being filed before the various Claims
Tribunal established thereunder throughout the country. Against
the awards of the Tribunals, appeals are filed under Section 173 of
the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 before the relevant High Court, either
by the claimants or by the insurers and owners of the offending
vehicles. Large number of such appeals are pending before the
various High Courts. Having regard to the above, we are of the
view that in order to curtail the pendency before the High Courts
and for speedy disposal of the appeals concerning payment of
compensation to the victims of road accident, it would be just and
proper to consider constituting “Motor Vehicle Appellate Tribunals”
by amending Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act so that the
appeals challenging the award of a tribunal could be filed before
the Appellate Tribunal so constituted.
19. The various Benches of such an Appellate Tribunal could
consist of two Senior District Judges. To ensure access to justice
and to avoid pendency, it is also proper to consider setting up
Benches of the Appellate Tribunal in various regional cities, in
addition to the capital city of each State as may be indicated by the
relevant High Court. For this purpose, appropriate rules governing
the procedure of the Appellate Tribunal may also be framed. No
further appeal against the order of the Appellate Tribunal need be
1
(2022) 2 SCC 767
5 of 7
::: Uploaded on - 23/04/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 23/04/2026 14:37:27 :::

HMK 01. FAST-35338-2012.doc

provided. If any of the parties is aggrieved by the order of the
Appellate Tribunal, he can always invoke the writ jurisdiction of
the High Court concerned for appropriate reliefs. The Department
of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, is requested to examine
this matter.
(emphasis supplied)
However, I could not find any material to indicate any steps having
been taken by the Union of India on above recommendation.
13. In view of above discussion, the Union of India should consider,
keeping in mind the object for which the compensation under the Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988 is granted, whether an alternate Appellate Forum can be
constituted for challenging the orders of the Tribunal. Such Appellate
Tribunal will be a specialized body and would be in a position to dispose of
the appeal in a much shorter span of time than what is generally taken by
the High Court. This step would achieve the object for which the provisions
of compensation are engrafted in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. This would
also relieve the High Court from utilizing its resources on matters where the
stake involved is only few lakhs and the resources if freed, can be utilized
for other matters which require priority. The said Appellate Forum can also
hear appeals from the Railway Claims Tribunal under the Railways Act,
1989 and should be headed by a Retired High Court Judge.
14. The functioning of the Tribunal has been successfully tested by our
Country over a period of more than 50 years while dealing with appeals
under various other enactments, e.g. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT),
Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), National
Consumer Disputes Appellate Forum, The Telecom Disputes Settlement and
Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), etc. In my view, it is high time that the Union
of India should consider setting up the Appellate Tribunal for resolving the
6 of 7
::: Uploaded on - 23/04/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 23/04/2026 14:37:27 :::

HMK 01. FAST-35338-2012.doc

disputes arising from the orders passed by the Court of first instance,
instead of appeals to the High Court.
15. Copy of this order is to be sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice and
Finance Ministry for appropriate discussion and consideration on setting up
of Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals from orders passed by the Motor
Accident Claims Tribunal and the Railway Claims Tribunal.
16. Appeal is dismissed.
17. Consequently, Civil Applications do not survive and are disposed of
accordingly.
[ JITENDRA JAIN, J. ]
7 of 7
::: Uploaded on - 23/04/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 23/04/2026 14:37:27 :::