(1.) The short question, which arise for consideration in this appeal under section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act by the Insurance Company, is whether the owner of goods carried in a goods carriage who has accompanied the goods would come within the purview of Section 147(l)of the Motor Vehicles Act, if goods as such were not carried in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
(2.) Appellant is the 3rd Respondent Insurance Company in O.P.(MV) No. 95 of 2006 on the file of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Ottappalam. The claimants in the O.P. who are Respondents 1 to 4 in this appeal filed the O.P. before the Tribunal claiming a compensation of 7,31,000 for the loss caused to them on account of the death of one Shajahan in a motor accident that happened on June 26, 2005 at about 11.30 a.m. at Kalladikkode, Chungam within the jurisdiction of Mannarkadu Police Station. Claimants are wife and three minor children of the deceased. The parents of the deceased were shown as Respondents 4 and 5 in the O.P.
(3.) The accident happened while the deceased was travelling in a tempo van bearing Registration No. KL-9M-3150 driven by the 1st Respondent in the O.P. from Perumbavoor to Machanthodu after unloading wooden logs. When they reached at Kalladikkode while giving side to a vehicle coming from the opposite direction, the driver lost control and the tempo van dashed against a tree standing on the side of the road. The deceased sustained serious injuries and he succumbed to the injuries while undergoing treatment in the hospital. Alleging negligence against the 1st Respondent driver of the tempo van, the claimants filed the O.P. before the Tribunal under section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act claiming a compensation of 7,31,000.