H V NARAYANA RAO Vs. A R RAVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A small mans problems would quite often throw greater challenges to the Judge and legal system if they were to do justice to him. The challenge brought before the court in this case relates to the question whether technicalities should be allowed to overtake the commands of justice and the dictates of good conscience of the Judge? The basic jurisprudential question throughout the ages is how can we improve the quality of justice for individual parties; how can we reduce injustice? over the centuries, it can be seen, the main answer has been to build a system of rules and principles, precepts and concepts to guide decisions in individual cases. That is a good answer, as good for the future as for the past, if we can borrow the phrase from Kenneth Culp Davis. Therefore, the continued development of rules and principles, innovations of precepts and concepts are both desirable and inevitable. We thought hitherto that technicality is the unfailing resource of an Indian litigant, but we also find now that the technicality has become very handy and convenient tool both for the lawyer and the judge to deny justice to crying men and women parti cularly those who are on the streets! If a judge tends to apply technicality at the cost of justice, termination of a legal action brought before him would be a quite easy and time-saving device; mind-boggling exercise in the decision-making can be avoided. That is the trend in dispensation of justice. The judgment impugned in this appeal reflects that trend. Therefore, it is a time to sacrifice orthodoxy in legal reasoning to secure legal justice to an aggrieved individual. Here is an attempt; undoubtedly an attempt which cannot be said to be free from criticisms.

(2.) THE father of the deceased being aggrieved by the judgment and award dated 18. 9. 1999 passed in M. V. C. No. 819 of 1991 on the file of the Motor Accidents claims Tribunal-IV, Bangalore Rural District, Bangalore, for short, the M. A. C. T. dismissing the claim petition filed under section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for short, the Act has preferred this appeal under section 173 of the Act.

(3.) THE facts of the case in brief are as follows: The appellant is the father of the deceased, H. N. Suresh by name. The deceased was unmarried. The deceased was an L. I. C. agent and was doing other works also. On 30. 6. 1991, the respondent No. 1 who is the Development Officer in L. I. C. under whom the deceased was working took the deceased on his motor cycle in the morning hours stating that there was some insurance work to be attended. At about 6. 45 p. m. on the same day they met with an accident within the jurisdiction of the bidadi Police Station and in the accident, suresh died and this was informed to the appellant in the night. The deceased was aged 26 years on the date of accident and he was earning income of Rs. 5,000 per month. So alleging the appellant had filed m. V. C. No. 819 of 1991 before M. A. C. T. under section 166 of the Act, claiming total compensation of Rs. 5,00,000. The vehicle involved in the accident is owned by the Senior Divisional Manager, L. I. C. , the respondent No. 2 and the same was insured by the respondent No. 3.