B.S.A. Swamy, J.
1. It is horrifying to note how lightly and mechanically, the trial in the criminal cases and cases relating to payment of compensation are being conducted by the counsel appearing on behalf of the prosecution as well as the claimants and counsel for the insurance companies, who are considered the custodians of public money. The manner in which the proceedings are being conducted, reflects the poor state of legal expertise of the counsel and is worse than the justice administered by village elders. The police are not taking minimum care in investigating the crimes to bring home the guilt of the accused and the prosecutions are being conducted for statistical purposes, than to control the increasing crime rate. In the cases filed for payment of compensation, also no care is being taken by the counsel appearing for the parties to protect the interests of their clients. They are neither marking the relevant documents nor examine the proper persons to prove their cases. The Judges are also giving compensation at their whims and fancies without reference to the law laid down by the superior courts and applying their mind, i.e., whether evidence produced by the claimants reflects the true facts of the case or case suffers from lack of material particulars in proving their case with the result these claim applications have turned out to be a chance game.
2. Generally, in most cases of road accidents, the injured or the dead person, will be first taken to the government hospitals and the nature of injuries suffered by the person involved in the accident will be noted in the case-sheet maintained by the hospital authorities whether one is admitted to the hospital or treated as an outpatient. Be that as it is, neither the counsel appearing on behalf of claimants nor the counsel representing the insurance companies, do take any care or bother to summon the doctors concerned, who had in fact treated the injured or dead person, when he was brought to the hospital. The private doctors are making good of this situation and obliging the persons approaching them with false medical certificates, knowing fully well that they have not treated them at any point of time, and at times they even dare to come to the courts and give evidence on behalf of the claimants with impunity, since they know that there won't be any cross-examination worth consid- eration. In the absence of any proper check on such unscrupulous elements and proper assistance from the counsel, this court is unable to know whether in fact, the accident took place at all and whether records placed before the court are genuine or have been brought into existence with the connivance of the police, with a view to embezzle the public monies in the garb of compensation.
3. It is also becoming difficult to know whether the persons approaching the courts and claiming compensation are the persons who really suffered injuries or they are the real legal heirs of the deceased persons. Unfortunately, the police who are expected to send the F.I.R. to the concerned Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal within 30 days from the date of receipt of first information as well as the charge-sheet along with all relevant documents, after completion of investigation, as required under Section 158(6) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, have failed miserably in their duty to comply with the statutory provisions.
4. In this case, according to the claimant, on 10.5.1998, while he was travelling in a lorry along with his goods, the lorry turned turtle and he received injuries, for which he claims to have taken treatment in government hospital for eight days. Since the claimant suffered fracture injuries, naturally he should have been treated by an orthopaedic surgeon. But surprisingly, he filed Exh. A-2, wound certificate, issued by Casualty Medical Officer in the govern- ment hospital. The claimant to support his version that he incurred Rs. 25,000 towards treatment, filed some medical bills. Except Exh. A-10, medical bill, which is dated 16.5.1998, all other medical bills produced by him are of different dates in June, 1998. Claimant suffered injuries on 10.5.1998 and as per Exh. A-10 medical bill dated 16.5.1998, claimant has purchased medicines six days after the date of occurrence of the accident. Even the name mentioned in the medical bill does not reflect the name of the claimant and the name is certainly a name other than the claimant. In some medical bills, the name of the claimant is reflected, but in some medical bills, the column relating to name is blank and unfilled. Likewise Exh. A-9, medical bill dated 19.5.1998 is for a sum of Rs. 19.50, but it does not contain the name of the claimant or any one else. The claimant to prove his case, examined PW 3 who claims to be an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics in the Government General Hospital, Kurnool, since 1991. According to him he examined the claimant on 20.1.2000 and X-ray taken on his advice is marked as Exh. A-12. It may be noticed that generally, on the X-ray film, the serial number and also the date on which the X-ray was taken, do find a mention. But on perusal of the same, I find that except Kurnool and some number, the date on which the X-ray was taken, is not mentioned, Though, PW 3 in his evidence testified that there is nonunion of medial malleolus and estimated the disability at 15 per cent to 20 per cent, he seemed to have not prescribed any medicines nor treated the claimant for the non-union of the medial malleolus. Hence, no credence can be given to the testimony of PW 3, doctor. A carbon copy of the judgment in C.C. No. 59 of 1998 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kurnool was marked as Exh. A-4, wherein the Magistrate convicted the driver under Sections 337 and 338, Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to pay fine of Rs. 200 and Rs. 500 respectively, in default to suffer simple imprisonment for 3 months. The evidence of PW 3 with regard to the injuries suffered by the claimant, the pain and suffering to which he was subjected to and whether the disability suffered by the claimant is of temporary or permanent nature or whether it is partial or complete is very vague and seems to be artificial. In the absence of any satisfactory medical evidence in this case, I deem it appropriate to remand the matter for consideration of the matter afresh, to ascertain the genuineness of the claim and whether he suffered the injuries at all, and if so, what are the nature of injuries suffered by him and the compensation he is entitled to.
5. Accordingly, the matter is remanded to the Claims Tribunal for examination of the doctor, who treated the claimant in the Government Hospital, Kurnool. The doctor shall be examined with reference to the case-sheet and other relevant material and thereupon, the Tribunal shall pass an appropriate order fixing the compensation payable to the claimant.
6. Before parting with the case, in the light of the above discussion of mine, I would like to give the following directions:
(i) The Director General of Police, A.P., Hyderabad, shall give immediate instructions to all the investigating officers in the State to comply with the mandatory requirement of sending the F.I.R. within thirty days, as well as the charge-sheet after completion of investigation, reflecting the true investigation as required under Section 158(6) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
(ii) Having regard to the fact, that day in and day out many scams are being unearthed and reported, he shall direct the investigating officers to take every precaution necessary to identify the legal heirs of the deceased person in case of death by taking their photographs with identification marks and in case of injuries, the photograph of the injured person along with his marks of identification and the sketch showing the scene of offence to be filed before the Tribunal having competent jurisdiction over the area, where the accident has taken place.
(iii) The investigating officer on receipt of the information with regard to the accident shall inform the fact to the local field officer of the insurance company with which the vehicle involved in the accident is insured so that he can make his own inquiries about the accident. For that purpose all the insurance companies have to furnish the details of their local Field Inspector to the concerned police station.
(iv) The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal hereinafter shall immediately call for the F.I.Rs. and see that the investigating officers file the charge-sheets and in cases where they have not received the F.I.Rs., they shall insist for sending them, as required under Section 158(6) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 forthwith.
(v) The Tribunal shall keep a watch on the doctors who are giving evidence in accident cases and if the doctor is a stock witness, they should take appropriate steps to recommend his case for taking action to the A.P. Branch of Indian Medical Council by giving reasons.
(vi) In the event the claimant files the claim petition at his native place, the concerned Tribunal shall call for the records relating to the investigation from the Tribunal, having jurisdiction over the place where accident has taken place.
(vii) The Director of Medical and Health Services, shall direct all the doctors working in the government hospitals that the doctors who treated the injured or the dead, shall alone appear before the court to give evidence along with the relevant case-sheets. Any certificate relating to the medico-legal cases, shall be given by the hospital authorities concerned, under the signature of the doctor concerned, who is said to have treated the injured. The case-sheet should reveal the issuance of the wound certificate as well as the disability certificate.
(viii) Likewise, the director shall issue instructions to all the doctors not to issue any medical certificate independently on their own if they have not treated the patient at the relevant point of time, i.e., at the time when the accident has taken place.
(ix) The Indian Medical Council of A.P. Branch, which is the supervisory body over the conduct of the doctors registered with it, shall issue a public notification in this regard and if necessary by issuing individual notices, directing all the private doctors not to issue any medical certificates in the medico-legal cases, unless he himself treated the patient immediately after the accident.
(x) If a person received injuries is treated in the government hospital immediately after accident no private doctor shall treat them, except in cases of urgency and dire necessity. The private doctors shall send the patients to the doctors in the government hospital for further treatment, if any required. But, they should not themselves treat them.
(xi) After a lapse of time if a private doctor treats any person involved in the accident, he shall maintain the record relating to the treatment given by him and he must justify his action in treating the patient in the court when summoned to give evidence.
(xii) It is brought to the notice of all the Regional General Managers of the insurance companies as well as A.P.S.R.T.C. that most of the empanelled advocates in the lower courts are not representing their cases properly and are not taking even minimum professional care required to protect their interest with the result, most of the compensation cases are going in favour of claimants and against the respondents. In fact, I visualize that there is a large racket working in the direction of creating fictitious and non-existent accidents for claiming large amounts as compensation and defrauding the insurance companies. Even after such a scam is unearthed in Khammam District neither the insurance companies nor the A.P.S.R.T.C. are taking proper care in engaging proper counsel to effectively and successfully represent their cases. Likewise, their field officers/legal officers are also treating these cases as a routine affair, without looking into the background of the claim and without there being any proper investigation by their field staff. In fact, no effort is being made by their counsel to get the correctness of the medical certificates produced by the claimants tested by asking for a second opinion. If they do not set their house in order now and take corrective steps, very soon, coffers of the public exchequer will be emptied. The counsel appearing for the respondents naturally take advantage of the situation and claim that since they have not been given any information, they are handicapped and not in a position to protect the interest of his client.
The civil miscellaneous appeal is disposed of. No costs.