Supreme Court Sets Aside Order on Insurer's Plea Passed Without Notice to Accident Claimants

IFFCO Tokio General Insurance appealed to the Bombay High Court under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against a Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal award (First Appeal No. 194 of 2026) (para 2). On 04.03.2026 a Division Bench disposed of the insurer's interim application, I.A. No. 1671 of 2026, by making certain directions without even issuing notice to the claimants, who were the respondents in the appeal (para 2). Under that order ₹5 crore had been paid over to the claimants (para 5). The first claimant is 87 years old and lost his son in the fatal road accident (para 4). The claimants appealed to the Supreme Court.

Disposing of an interim application without notice to the opponent is rather unusual, and the High Court proceeded in clear breach of the principles of natural justice (para 3). The Court therefore set aside the order insofar as it recorded disposal of the interim application, revived the application on the High Court's file, and requested the roster Bench to rehear it in the presence of the claimants (para 3). Given the first appellant's age of 87 and the loss of his son, it asked the High Court to decide the application as expeditiously as possible, preferably by the end of December 2026 (para 4). It recorded that ₹5 crore had already been made over to the claimants under the impugned order, and left it to the High Court to decide whether the insurer should be made liable to pay any further sum out of the award, keeping all contentions on the merits open (para 5).