Impersonation in car accident compensation case; Kerala HC orders retrial

KOCHI: The High Court directed the Palakkad Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) to re-conduct a trial due to suspicion of impersonation in a vehicle accident compensation case. The previous order of the Lok Adalat, which granted compensation as per the tribunal's instructions, was also quashed.

Justice C.S. Dias also directed the administrators to take steps to identify genuine parties who approach the courts for compensation. The action was taken in response to a petition filed by Vysakh A. Nair, a native of Mannarkkad, who was injured in a road accident.

In 2017, Vysakh was seriously injured in a collision while travelling by bus. When he approached the Palakkad Tribunal in 2018 for compensation, New India Assurance Company pointed out that another lawyer had filed a petition on behalf of the Vysakh and Rs 32,000 had been awarded as per the Lok Adalat verdict conducted by the District Legal Services Authority.

The second petition was alleged to be an attempt to extort money. The petitioner, clueless of the happenings said he was approaching the tribunal for the first time. The petitioner said he had no idea who filed the petition on his behalf. He then filed a petition in the High Court.

The insurance company announced that although the claim amount was deposited into the account, no one received it. The High Court directed the tribunal to put both petitions together for trial, to find out the person behind the fraud.

The High Court found discrepancies in the petitioner's signatures in the petitions filed in the Tribunal and in the High Court's legal representation. It was also reported that the lawyer who filed the first petition is no longer alive.

The tribunal should find out who filed the first petition. If the petitioner is at fault, action should be taken. The insurance amount sanctioned earlier should be refunded to the company for the time being. The trial should be concluded within six months. There should be an identification system in the courts to prevent such frauds from recurring. The court also ordered the Kerala Legal Services Authority to issue guidelines for this.