P.BEEMA Vs. TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appeal on hand is filed by the 1strespondent in O.P. (MV) No.843/2009 on the files of Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Kollam (for short, 'the Tribunal')

(2.) For the sake of convenience, the parties to this appeal will hereinafter be referred to as the petitioner and respondents 1 to 3 in accordance with their status in the Original Petition.

(3.) As revealed from the pleadings in the Original Petition, petitioner was the owner of a tusker named Gopalakrishnan. At about 5.30 a.m. on 24/3/2009 while the elephant was taken by its mahouts through Alappuzha-Kollam National Highway a Truck bearing Registration No.TN-74-V-2449 hit him at Sakthikulangara due to rash and neglect driving by its driver and thereby sustained injuries. Treatment was given to it immediately, but it died at 1.30 p.m. on 26/3/2009. Alleging negligence on the part of the driver of the Truck arrayed as the 2ndrespondent and claiming a sum of Rs.70,00,000.00 as compensation, the Original Petition was filed. The owner, the driver and the insurer of the Truck were arrayed in the Original Petition as respondents 1 to 3.