MANAGING DIRECTOR PALLAVAN TRANSPORT Vs. Y GANESAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) NONE appears for the respondents. The Corporation has filed the above appeal questioning the correctness of the award passed by the Tribunal.

(2.) THE deceased, according to claimants, was standing in the bus stand and the bus which was driven by the Corporation driver in a rash and negligent manner, dashed against the deceased and thereby he died. According to the appellant, the deceased along with others tried to step up in the bus even before it is stopped and thereby he fell down. So, the negligence cannot be fixed on the part of the driver of the Corporation bus.

(3.) FROM Exhs. P-2 and P-3, namely, f. I. R. and the sketch, it is clear that the accident took place even in the bus stand itself. Even according to claimants there was a crowd in the bus stand. The Tribunal has not rejected the case of the appellant that the deceased when he tried to step up in the running bus, fell down. The responsibility was fixed only on the ground that the conductor should have taken diligent steps to avoid such accidents and the driver should have driven the vehicle with all caution. Though such responsibility can be fixed on the driver and the conductor, we also have to appreciate the passengers' responsibility. They should not try to get down in the running bus. The evidence of the claimants that when the deceased was standing in the bus stand, the bus dashed against the deceased as the said bus was driven in a rash and negligent manner, cannot be accepted, in view of the admission made by the claimants that there were much crowd in the bus stand. If there were much crowd, the question of driving the vehicle rashly in the bus stand was not possible. The Tribunal also found that the accident took place only when the passengers tried to get into the running bus. The negligence is fixed on the driver only on the ground that the driver and conductor did not take care to avoid the accident.