ELLAMMAL Vs. GOVT OF T N

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This civil miscellaneous appeal is preferred against the order of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Chengelpattu in M.O.P. No. 320 of 1979 on its file.

(2.) The facts are :- On 15-8-1977, the lorry bearing registration No. MDJ 4264 was proceeding from Kancheepuram to Sriperumbudur with rice bags loaded in it. The owner of the lorry, Rajamanickam, was also in the lorry. When the lorry came near Sunkuvarchatram, at 12.15 p.m., respondent 3, Head Constable, and two other constables attached to the out-post police station at Sunkuvarchatram controlled by the Sriperumbudur Police Station, came out of the station and flung a plank containing a number of nails in it before the lorry. That r4sulted in the puncture of the tyres. The vehicle went out of control and dashed against a tree resulting in the death of the owner, Rajamanickam, and the driver and a cooly. Deceased Rajamanickam was aged 23 years at the time of his death. As owner of the lorry, he was earning Rs. 1500 per month.

(3.) The second respondent, Collector of Chengalpattu district, in his answer to the petition admitted that the police personnel threw a plank containing nails to stop the lorry, that there was a large scale smuggling of rice from various parts of Tamil Nadu to Madras city, that it was suspected that the lorry in question was carrying rice without permit and that therefore the police personnel tried to stop the lorry even at 100 feet away from the outpost, but as the driver increased the speed of the lorry, the plank was thrown. His further contention is that the petition itself is not maintainable and the Government and its servants cannot be made liable for damages and that the compensation claimed is high.