ORISSA COOP INSURANCE SOCIETY LIMITED Vs. SANTOSH GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Being aggrieved by the judgment of the Hon'ble Single Judge holding the insurance company to be liable to pay compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased, who was a gratuitous passenger in the car involved in the accident, the appellant has filed this Letters Patent Appeal mainly on the ground that the insurance company with which the car is comprehensively insured, is not liable to make payment of compensation in case of death of or bodily injury to a gratuitous passenger in the car.

(2.) Before we deal with the respective contentions of the parties, we may give some relevant facts which have given rise to this Appeal.

(3.) An Ambassador car bearing No.DLJ-3675 owned by respondent No.8 was comprehensively insured under a policy of insurance with the appellant company. On 5th May, 1971 at about 4.45 p.m. when the car was being driven in a reckless and negligent manner by respondent No.7, Kartar Singh, it met with an accident and dashed against a tree away from the road. As a result of the accident one Sh.Manohar Lal Gupta, who was sitting on the rear seat of the car, received injuries. After the accident Sh.Manohar Lal Gupta along with other injured was taken to the Najafgarh Public Health Centre where he was declared dead.