NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. Vs. SUSAMMA VARGHESE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RESPONDENT herein is the widow of K.M. Varghese, the owner of scooter KLU 5023, who while driving the scooter on 9.6.1978 died in a road accident. She filed a claim petition before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Trivandrum, under Section 110 -A of the Motor Vehicles Act claiming compensation of Rs. 1,02,500/ - impleading the insurer. She could not have impleaded anybody else since the owner and the driver of the scooter was her husband. The insurer resisted the claim mainly on the ground that injury to the owner while driving his scooter is not covered by the policy. The Tribunal rejected the insurer's contention and passed an award for a sum of Rs. 60,000/ -. The award is now challenged.

(2.) LEARNED counsel for the appellant strenuously challenges the view taken by the Tribunal that the insurance policy involves personal policy also. We do not think we need to go into this question since considering other aspects of the case, the insurer has to be exonerated.

(3.) THE claimant's husband was the owner of the scooter and at the time of accident he was driving the scooter. The claim application merely describes it as an accident without averring that the accident took place on account of rashness or negligence in driving. The insurer has no case that the owner -driver was guilty of rash or negligent act. The scooter appears to have skidded. The accident took place on account of skidding of the scooter. It was an accident which took place during rainy season. The probabilities are that it was an inevitable accident resulting from water on the road. At any rate no party has a case that the accident was the result of rash and negligent driving by the owner -driver. If that be so, such a claim cannot be agitated under Section 110 -A of the Motor Vehicles Act.