PIJUSH KANTI GHOSH Vs. MAYA RANI CHATTERJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against an award made in Motor Accident Claim Case No. 17 of 1964 by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal at Howrah which is also the Tribunal for Calcutta and 24-Parganas. The claim was preferred by Maya Rani Chatterjee and her four minor children namely, Mamata Chatteriee, Shanti Dulal Chatterjee, Monoj Dulal Chatterjee and Brojo Dulal Chatteriee along with another child described as baby which minors were represented by their guardian mother Maya Rani Chatteriee. It was filed on 6th February, 1964 claiming compensation for the death of Maya Rani's husband Gopal Chandra Chatteriee as a result of an accident on the road north of Raja Subodh Mullick Square in Calcutta on 23rd June, 1963 at about 10 p.m. when the said Gopal Chandra Chatteriee was alleged to have been violently knocked down and run over by a Taxi Cab No. WET-1422 driven by Chandra Sekhar Misra who was an employee of the owner of the said taxi Pijush Kanti Ghosh.

(2.) It was alleged that on 23rd June, 1963 at about 10 p.m. when Gopal Chandra was crossing that road from north to south the taxi car No. WET-1422 came from north to south along Nirmal Chandra Street and took a turn along Wellington Square north at a high speed without blowing any horn and proceeded towards east. The vehicle was driven rashly and negligently and thereby knocked down Gopal Chandra causing severe injuries in his head and on his person. The said taxi then stopped near the place of occurrence and some citizens who assembled there put Gopal Chandra on the back seat of the same taxi, called the traffic Constable on duty at the junction of Nirmal Chandra Street and Ganesh Chandra Avenue which is close to the place of occurrence, the Traffic Constable was asked to take the injured to the Medical College Hospital in the same taxi cab and he did so. Gopal Chandra died in the Medical College Hospital on 27th June, 1963.

(3.) At the time of Gopal Chandra's death he was employed as the Head Assistant of Home Defence Department, Government of West Bengal and was residing at Calcutta. His wife Maya Rani was at that time pregnant and she was living with her children at Searsole in the district of Burdwan. She did not know about Gopal Chandra's death, nor the manner in which Gopal Chandra met his death. In Julv. 1963 Maya Rani's brother Shyama Pada Ghatak, P.W. 9 learnt about the death of Gopal Chandra from Home Departmeent in the Writers' Building and he informed Maya Rani of Gopal Chandra's death in the night of 5th July, 1963. There was a Criminal Case over that incident of running over and Shyama Pada P.W. 9 deposed as a witness in that Criminal Case. In August, 1963 he came to know from the Police Officer of the Fatal Squad at Lalbazar that Gopal had died in the motor accident.