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However, Section 166 of the said Act contemplates filing of a composite application, as is evident from the proviso appended to sub-section (2) of Section 166 of the said Act."

12. There is another Division Bench decision of this court in a case reported in 2001(4) PLJR 557 (supra) which without noticing earlier decision has also arrived at the same conclusion that independent application under section 140 of the Act is well maintainable. Thus, now there cannot be any dispute on this issue.

22. The intention of the law makers appears very much clear that there be no scope left for multiplicity of the proceedings, in creating undue burden upon the system which to cope with the pressure started taking shelter of alternative dispute redressal system but still is heavily burdened and thus, the claimants are held not entitled to stretch the owner of the offending vehicle or the insurer under series of litigations for same accident/cause of action, they are bound to take a decision and opt for anyone of the options suitable to them. No doubt in order to provide benefits at the earliest there is provision to bring an application under section 140 of the Act, as a component to the main application, under other provisions of the Act, by way of ad interim compensation, but when the claimants choose to come forward under section 140 of the Act independently not as composite application, they are not only debarred from coming forward under Section 163A of the Act for structural compensation on the principle of no fault but also under section 166 of the Act. Which also appears in consonance with the principle enunciated in Order II Rule 2 of the code of civil procedure, stated below.

23. On the discussion made above, in the given case the claim application under Section 140 of the Act is not barred under any law. But at the same time the claimant appellant may have an opportunity to decide and opt either to proceed with it as a separate and independent application under section 140 of the Act, and be satisfied with the prescribed fixed amount of compensation or to get the same converted into an composite application extending the claim to a larger extent of their choice/suitability with a relief under Section 140 of the Act by way of ad interim compensation therein, and do the needfuls with due intimation and leave of claim tribunal strictly within a month.