INDIAN MERCANTILE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD. Vs. MEHNGA SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will dispose of F.A.O. Nos. 37 and 39 of 1974, in which somewhat similar points are involved and which arise of two incidents which took place in quick succession.

(2.) ON the night between 25th and 26th April, 1970, certain employees of Municipal Electricity Department, Amritsar, were doing official work at about 2.15 a.m. on Chamrang road near the crossing of that road with G.T. road. At that time, truck No. PNQ -1247 came from Amritsar side at a very high speed and it over -ran Ramesh Chand, employee of the Municipal Committee, who was killed at the spot. Mother and unmarried sister of Ramesh Chand filed a claim petition before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal in which the driver of the truck was held guilty of negligence and they were awarded Rs. 2,500/ - as compensation, Rs. 1,800/ - for the mother and Rs. 700/ - for the unmarried sister. Feeling aggrieved from the award, both the claimants have filed F.A.O. No. 39 of 1974 in this Court for enhancement of the compensation.

(3.) FIRST dealing with F.A.O. No. 37 of 1974, the Learned Counsel for the insurance company could hardly raise any arguments to upset the finding of the Tribunal about the negligence of the truck driver. Moreover, on a reading of the evidence on the record, it is amply proved that the driver of the truck was grossly negligent due to which Gurmukh Singh cleaner of the truck died. Normally, the driver would have come out of the truck and would have gone on foot to see the cleaner of the truck, but in his anxiety that he may not be caught for running over Ramesh Chand, he used the back gear of the truck and reversed the truck more than necessary with the result the cleaner of the truck, who was lying on the road, was also run over .