PUSPA DAS Vs. SANKAR DEB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition by the claimants is directed against the award dated 26.09.2006 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, South Tripura, Udaipur in T.S. (MAC) 195 of 2004, whereby the learned Tribunal dismissed the claim petition on the ground that the claimants had failed to prove that the deceased had died in an accident involving auto rickshaw bearing registration no. TR -03 -2014.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts of the case are, that the claimants filed a claim petition alleging therein, that on 12.08.2004 the deceased was going to his place of work on foot along the Agartala - Udaipur main road. When he reached near Gokulpur he was hit by auto rickshaw bearing registration no. TR -03 -2014. Thereafter, the injured was shifted to Tripura Sundari hospital, Udaipur but unfortunately died soon thereafter.

(3.) THE learned Tribunal came to the conclusion that the manner in which the accident had been portrayed in the claim petition or by the claimants was not true. While coming to the conclusion the learned Tribunal held that in the FIR the number of the auto rickshaw was given as TR -03 -2214 but in the claim petition the same was mentioned as TR -03 -2014. This, by itself, may not be of very great importance because a mistake may happen. However, the claimant or some other person must lead evidence to show how the mistake happened. In this case no such evidence has been done. Furthermore, in regard to the issue of negligence or even the accident taking place the claimant did not examine any witnesses but only placed on record the statements of the witnesses recorded under Section 164(5) Cr.P.C. and the statement of one witness Nanda Dulal Banik, who was examined as a witness in Court in GR case bearing no. 301 of 2004.