MAYA RANI GHOSH Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Can a claim for compensation, under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855, (in short, 'the Act of 1855') be made by making a mere application, in the Court of District Judge, within whose territorial jurisdiction the cause of 'action' has arisen or whether such a claim for compensation has to be made by instituting a 'suit' in a Court of competent jurisdiction or is the person, claiming compensation, in such a case, has the option of either making an application, in the Court of District Judge, seeking compensation or instituting an appropriate 'suit' in a civil Court of competent jurisdiction? Is there any distinction between a 'suit' and an 'action' or whether the words, 'suit' and 'action', are two interchangeable words? Where lies the origin of 'suit' or 'action' ? Is the English legal system of the Courts of 'common law' and the 'Courts of equity' has any bearing on the enactment of the Fatal Accident Act, 1855, and if so, what is the effect thereof? By following a system, which may not be entirely in accordance with the prescribed procedure of law, when Courts have passed orders for fairly long period of time and such orders have already been acted upon, whether the superior Court must necessarily upset such orders, when the errors, in the system, are brought to the notice of the superior Court or whether, in such cases, the maxim 'communis error facit jus' is applicable? These are some of the important questions, which the present Letters Patent Appeals have raised.

(2.) Before we deal with the questions passed above, we set out the material facts and various stages, which have led to the present Letters Patent Appeals.

(3.) The appellant herein filed a petition in the Court of District Judge, West Tripura, Agartala, seeking compensation of a sum of Rs. 7,40,000/- under the Act of 1855, the appellant's case being, in brief, thus: on 27-10-1989, when a truck, bearing registration No. TRL-3024, loaded with wooden logs and having the claimant's husband as a labour in the said truck, was entering into a saw mill, claimant's husband happened to touch an electric pole standing near the saw mill, which resulted into his death, the accident having taken place, because of the fact that the said electric pole got electrocuted due to high voltage live electric lines. At the time of the accident, the deceased was about 40 years old, his income was about Rs. 1,500/- per month and he was the sole bread-earner of his family, which consisted of his wife, two daughters and three sons. Based on this claim application, Title Suit (FA) No. 4 of 1994 was registered.