MANSUKHLAL BHANJIBHAI DABHI Vs. PITHALAL POPATLAL HITHADIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, an injured has filed this appeal against the judgment of Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Jamnagar dated 18-8-1988 passed in the Claim Petition No.155 of 1982. The appellant who was injured in the vehicular accident while driving the Jeep of his employer lodged a claim of Rs. 3,40,000/-, against which the Tribunal has awarded Rs. 1,02,400/-. The appellant restricted the claim to Rs. 1,50,000/- only in the appeal.

(2.) The appellant was driving Jeep No. GJP 2344 and Opponent No. 1 was driving Truck No. GTW-1038. The appellant has come out with a case that the accident had taken place on account of the negligent driving on the part of the truck driver. The Tribunal has found it to be a case of contributory negligence the truck driver was held to be negligent to the extent of 75% and the appellant-Jeep driver was held to be negligent to the extent of 25%. So far as disability which the appellant has sustained because of this accident is concerned, the Tribunal has held that he is able to prove the disability, but not to the extent of 80%. The Tribunal awarded the amount under the different heads as under :

(3.) Out of the said amount, Rs. 34,000/ had been deducted towards 25% contributory negligence of the appellant. The claim awarded is to the extent of Rs. 1,02,400/ as stated earlier. The learned counsel for the appellant has not provided any assistance to the Court. The first ground raised in the appeal is that the appellant was not negligent at all and as such the Award of the Tribunal to the extent, his negligence hat been fixed at 25%, suffers from infirmity. After going through the judgment of the Tribunal, I do not find any substance in this contention. Both the vehicles i.e. Truck and Jeep, as revealed from the panchnama Exh. 29, were damaged on the right side. From the panchnama, it further reveals that the road is 25ft wide. Taking into consideration this fact, the Tribunal has rightly held that in case, both the drivers would have been careful then the vehicles would not have been damaged on right side. It is not a case of head on collission between the two vehicles. As per the panchnama, the Truck was not damaged in the front side.