ALAMDEEP KAUR Vs. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal has been filed by the claimants who were awarded a sum of Rs. 1,60,000/- as compensation by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Ludhiana, on 15.6.1984. The amount was to be payable within three months, otherwise the respondents were to pay 12 per cent interest from the date of the award. Costs were also allowed.

(2.) Sukhinder Singh, Advocate of Ludhiana died on account of accident involving a car and a truck. The accident took place on 7.11.1981 at about 11.00 P.M. Alamdeep Kaur his widow and Prabhinder Singh his minor son claimed compensation to the tune of Rs. 5 lacs being were insured with the New India Assurance Company. It is not necessary to give further details of the accident as the owners, drivers or the Insurance company have not filed any appeal. The Tribunal held that the accident occurred on account of composite negligence of both the drivers of the vehicles involved in the accident.

(3.) In appeal, an application for producing additional evidence was field that as per the instructions issued by the Insurance Company, It was required to be mentioned in the insurance policy that the occupants of the motor car were also covered, though in the policy om dispute, it was not so mentioned. The applicants wanted the instructions to be brought on record take advantage that occupant of the car (deceased) was fully covered by the policy and the entire liability of the Insurance Company was there and the Tribunal had wrongly limited it of Rs. 50,000/- in the award. In my view there is none date allow this application, as the liability of the Insurance Company was there and the Tribunal had wrongly limited it o Rs. 50,000/- in the award. In my view there is no need not allow this application, as the liability of the Insurance company is not at all limited. As already stated above, the Insurance Company is the same who had insured the truck as well as the car. Since it was a case of composite liability, the drivers of both the vehicles likewise their owners and the Insurance Company were liable for the entire amount of Compensation to be awarded. The New India Assurance Company who had insured the truck involved in the accident was liable to pay the entire amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal. The same Insurance Company's liability could not be limited as it happened to insure the car as well. The miscellaneous application is, therefore, dismissed as infructuous in view of the fact that the liability of the Insurance Company is full being the insurer of the truck.