CHANDRAKANTA TIWARI Vs. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) On 18.03.2004, an incident took place, by which the son of the claimant, who allegedly was a pillion rider, was killed in a road accident. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Dehradun (hereinafter referred to as MACT) after examining the evidence, came to the conclusion that the accident was due to the rash and negligent driving of respondent No. 2, who was the owner of the motor vehicle and who was driving the aforesaid motor vehicle. The victim was aged 28 years. Coming to the conclusion that a salary of Rs.3,000/- per month would be adequate, with a deduction of one-third, and taking the multiplier as 8 dependant upon the Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by SUSHMA KUMARI BAJAJ Date: 2020.06.12 claimants age, the MACT finally held the insurance company liable to pay a total of Rs. 1.99 lakhs + 6 per cent CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2527 OF 2020 interest thereon.

(3.) In the appeal filed before the High Court of Uttarakhand, by the impugned order dated 28.12.2016, the High Court held that since the insurance company denied that the deceased was only a pillion rider and stated that he was, in fact, driving the vehicle himself; also since the claimant was not present at the spot; and since Shri Virender Bijalwan, respondent No. 2, who ought to have been called as he was the only surviving eye witness, not being called as a witness, therefore, proved fatal to the claim, as a result of which, the petition under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, would have to be dismissed. Further, the High Court also held that nothing was brought on record to show that the deceased was having a valid driving license. In this view of the matter, the appeal was allowed and the judgment passed by the MACT was set aside.