THILAGAVATHI AND ORS. Vs. SUNDARAM AND ANR.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal against the order of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal , Salem dismissing a claim made Under Section 100A of the Motor Vehicles Act for compensation of Rs. 50,000 for the death of one K. S. Loganathan in a tractor accident. The accident took place on 21st October, 1969, while Loganathan was ploughing his mother's and with the tractor, owned by his father Sundaram and insured by him with the Life Insurance Corporation of India. The claimants who are the widow, daughter and mother of the deceased, alleged in the petition that, without any rashness or negligence on the part of Loganathan, the vehicle turned turtle suddenly at 1 p.m. on the date in question, with the result Loganathan fell down and was crushed to death by the tractor. It was a edge in the petition that the accident was due to mechanical defect in the vehicle. Sundaram the father of the deceased, remained ex parte.

(2.) THE Insurance Company filed a counter raising several objections, one of which was that the accident had been brought about by the rashness and negligence of Loganathan, who was driving the tractor. The other contention was that the accident had taken place in a private land and the petition was not therefore maintainable Under Section 95 (1) read with Section 2 (24) of the Motor Vehicles Act. Objections were raised to the maintainability of the petition before the Claims Tribunal on the ground that the petition would lie under the Workmen's Compensation Act before the Commissioner and not before the Claims Tribunal.

(3.) LEARNED Counsel for the appellants contends that the finding of the Tribunal that the deceased was not an employee of his father is wrong and that the evidence on record ought to compel the Court to conclude that the deceased was really an employee of his father and that compensation ought to have been granted by the Tribunal under the Workmen's Compensation Act.