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TMI Blog1975 (10) TMI 101X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d insured with appellant no. 1. A cause of action accrued to the respondents 1, 2 and 3 (hereinafter called the respondents) to claim compensation as legal representatives of the deceased under the Indian Fatal Accidents Act, 1855. A suit could be brought under Article 82 of the Limitation Act, 1963 within two years of the occurrence of the accident. But in the mean-time the Government of Uttar Pradesh constituted the Claims Tribunal under section 110 of the Act, by a notification published in the Gazette of the 18th March, 1967. The respondents filed an application under section 110A on the 8th July, 1967. The appellants objected to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to entertain the application. The Tribunal over-ruled the. Objection and held that it had jurisdiction to entertain the application. The appellants filed a writ application in the High Court which was allowed by a learned single Judge. In appeal filed by the respondents there was a difference of opinion between the two judges constituting the Division Bench. On reference to a third Judge the ultimate view taken by the High Court was that the Tribunal had jurisdiction to entertain this application. Hence this appeal. Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the only remedy available was that of filing an application before the Tribunal and the jurisdiction of Civil Court was barred. Vide Unique Motor and General Insurance Co. Ltd., Bombay v. Kartar Singh and another;(1) M/s V. C. K. Bus Service (P) Ltd. Coimbatore and another v. H. B. Sethna and others.(2) Palni Ammal and others v. The Safe Service, Ltd., Salem and others;(3) Natverlal Bhikhalal Shah v. Thakarda Khodaji kalaji and others;(4) Jade Motor Transport Co. and others v. Jagdish Prasad Bhimganj Ward Kota(5) and Thomas and others v. Messrs Hotz Hotels Ltd. and others(6). A contrary view was taken by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Khatumal Ghanshamdas v. Abdul Qadir Jamaluddin and others(7); Kumari Sushma Mehta v. Central Provinces Transport Services Ltd. and others(8). In the first case of Madhya Pradesh observations were obiter dicta because on facts it was a case of a pending suit. Similar obiter dicta were made by a Bench of the Patna High Court following the Madhya Pradesh decisions in the case of The Bihar Co-operative Motor Vehicles, Insurance Society Ltd. v. Rameshwar Raut and others(9). The question falls for determination in this Court for the first time and we have ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... quot;arising out of an accident" occurring in subsection (1) and "over the area in which the accident occurred", mentioned in sub-section (2) clearly show that the change forum was meant to be operative retrospectively irrespective of the fact as to when the accident occurred To that extent there was no difficulty in giving the answer in a simple way. But the provision of limitation of 60 days contained in sub-section (3) created an obstacle in the straight application of the well-established principle of law. If the accident had occurred within 60 days prior to the constitution of the Tribunal then the bar of limitation provided in sub-section (3) was not an impediment. An application to the Tribunal could be said to be the only remedy. If such an application, due to one reason or the other, could not be made within 60 days then the Tribunal had the power to condone the delay under the proviso. But if the accident occurred more than 60 days before the constitution of the Tribunal then the bar of limitation provided in sub-section (3) of section 110A on its face was attracted. This difficulty of limitation led most of the High courts to fall back upon the proviso and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nal cannot be condoned under the proviso. Then, will the application be barred under sub-section (3) of section 110A? Our answer is in the negative and or two reasons: (1) Time for the purpose of filing the application under section 110A did not start running before the constitution of the Tribunal. Time had started running for the filing of the suit but before it had expired the forum was changed. And for the purpose of the changed forum, time could not be deemed to have started running before a remedy of going to the new forum is made available. (2) Even though by and large the law of limitation has been held to be a procedural law, there are exceptions to this principle. Generally the law of limitation which is in vogue on the date of the commencement of the action governs it. But there are certain exceptions to this principle. The new law of limitation providing a longer period cannot revive a dead remedy. Nor can it suddenly extinguish vested right of action by providing for a shorter period of limitation. In Delhi and London Bank, Limited v. Melmoth A D. Orchard(1) Sir Barnes Peacock delivering the judgment on behalf of the Board said at page 135: "Indeed, if the con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... law in relation to the forum, in the context of the object of the change, is imperative. That being so the principles aforesaid for overcoming the bar of limitation will be applicable. Apropos the bar of limitation provided in section 110A(3), one can say, on the basis of the authorities aforesaid that strictly speaking the bar does not operate in relation to an application for compensation arising out of an accident which occurred prior to the constitution of the Claims Tribunal. But since in such a case there is a change of forum, unlike the fact of the said cases, the reasonable view to take would be that such an application can be filed within a reasonable time of the constitution of the Tribunal, which ordinarily and generally would be the time of limitation mentioned in sub-section (3). If the application could not be made within that time from the date of the constitution of the Tribunal, in a given case, the further time taken in the making of the application may be held to be the reasonable time on the facts of that case for the making of the application or the delay made after the expiry of the period of limitation provided in subsection (3) from the date of the constit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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