ASHOK KUMAR AND ANOTHER Vs. BRANCH MANAGER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It is indeed a sordid tale where the appellants who were hardly 4 and 2 years of age at the time of occurrence of the accident, lost their father in the motor accident and few years later the destiny robbed them of their mother and they were turned into orphans fighting to fend for themselves and lost their childhood to harsh cruelties of life. Though the accident occurred in the year 1998 but it is only when the appellants came of age and had attained sufficient maturity that the claim petition came to be filed only in the year 2010.

(2.) While filing the claim petition, the claimants had filed the certified copies of the FIR, the postmortem report and the charge-sheet to indicate that on the fateful day, an accident had occurred which resulted into death of their father Ram Prasad. In support of their case, they also examined two witnesses, namely, Ashok Kumar and Ram Babu.

(3.) It be noted that on 25.11.1998 at around 7.30 P.M. when Ram Prasad, the father of the appellants was returning to his house on a bicycle and had reached the Phulwariya bypass under Police Station Kotwali Dehat, District Balrampur at the relevant time a truck bearing number U.P. 42 C-4234 coming from the opposite direction and being driven rashly and negligently, hit Ram Prasad who received grievous injury and died on the spot. It was alleged that he was about 45 years of age and he earned Rs.10,000/- per month.