Christian Man's Parents, Siblings Need Not Be Arrayed In Motor Accidents Claim Petition If He Left Behind Widow, Children: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court, in a recent judgment, clarified that the non-lineal kindred of an intestate Christian male need not be arrayed as respondents in a claim petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 if he has left a widow and his children.Justice Harisankar V. Menon observed that when the deceased in a motor accident is a Christian male, then his legal representatives, as defined under Rule 2(k) of the Motor Vehicles Rules, can be determined as per the Indian Succession Act. As per the Indian Succession Act, when a deceased leaves behind a wife and lineal descendants, i.e., children, then no other kindred/relatives can inherit his estate.The appellants are the wife and three children of deceased Valsalam, who died in a motor accident when a KSRTC bus hit his bike. They had instituted a claim petition before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) along with the deceased's parents. While the case was pending, the deceased's parents died.The appellants filed an application to record them as legal representatives of the parents. The insurance company claimed that the 8 siblings of the deceased were not impleaded. Accepting the same, and noting that the appellants had not provided a legal heirship certificate of Valsalam's deceased parents, the Tribunal dismissed the appellant's application. Thereafter, the Tribunal dismissed the claim petition as not maintainable since Valsalam's parents' legal representatives were not impleaded. Aggrieved, the appellants have come before the High Court.The Court found that the proviso to clause (c) of Section 166 MV Act states that if some of the legal representatives of a deceased are not joining in the application before the Tribunal for compensation, they have to be impleaded as respondents. It also noted that as per the definition under Rule 2(k) of the MV Rules, 'legal representative' means a person who is entitled to inherit the estate of the deceased.Since the deceased was a Christian man with a widow and three children, the Court opined that Section 33(a) of the Indian Succession Act would apply to determine his legal representatives. As per Section 33(a), when the intestate has a widow and lineal descendants, then they alone would be entitled to his estate.Therefore, the Court found that there was no necessity under law for the parents of the deceased to be impleaded in the claim petition. Since that is the case, there is no requirement for their children, i.e., the deceased's siblings to be impleaded.Allowing the appeal, the Court remitted the claim petition to the Tribunal and directed for early disposal of the same. Case No: MACA No. 1787 of 2021Case Title: Devaki and Ors. v. The Managing Director, KSRTC and Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 776Counsel for the appellants: V. Suresh, G. Sudheer, R. HarikrishnanCounsel for the respondents: M.P. Prasanth – Public ProsecutorClick to Read/Download Judgment

Christian Man's Parents, Siblings Need Not Be Arrayed In Motor Accidents Claim Petition If He Left Behind Widow, Children: Kerala High Court

K. Salma Jennath

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