SHEELA DEVI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an unfortunate case. Bhagwan Dass was killed while travelling in bus bearing No. PUR-8192 being driven by Amar Singh, respondent No. 3 and belonging to the Punjab Roadways in an accident which had happened on 18.12.1982. The claimants are his widow, his three adult daughters and five minor children, making nine claimants in all. The claim for compensation raised by the claimants had been declined by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Hoshiarpur vide its award dated 2.4.1985, holding that it has not been proved that the accident had happened on account of the rash and negligent driving of the driver, Amar Singh.

(2.) THE appeal was filed in this Court in the year 1985. In the meanwhile, the five minor children of the deceased have attained the age of majority and have filed Civil Misc. Application No. 8486 of 2003 for treating them as appellants in their own right and for discharging their next friend Sheela Devi. On the facts of the case, the aforesaid Civil Misc. is allowed.

(3.) THE additional issue was taken up first and on a consideration of the evidence on record, the Tribunal found that there was sufficient cause to condone the delay and accordingly decided the issue in favour of the claimants. The Tribunal then went on to issue No. 1 and concluded that it appeared that Jagdish Ram (PW-5), who was the solitary eye-witness of the accident, was none other than the brother of claimant Sheela Devi and it appeared that he had not been travelling in the bus No. PUR-8192 as claimed by him and had not witnessed the accident. Several factors were taken into account in arriving at this conclusion which were :- (i) that the DDR recorded regarding the accident had not been in the nature of a complaint, (ii) the injuries had allegedly been caused to Bhagwan Dass, who was sitting on the front seat of the bus by iron roads, but the evidence of Dr. Madan Dev Saini (PW-1), who had medically examined Bhagwan Dass before his death and Dr. O.P. Chhabra (PW-2), who had conducted the post-mortem examination showed that the injuries could not have been caused with the rods as averred and (iii) that Jagdish Ram's story that he had first brought the injured to the Civil Hospital at Tanda and thereafter to Jalandhar was also wrong as Dr. Mohan Dev Saini (PW-1) had stated that it was Amar Singh the bus driver, who had brought the injured to the Hospital. Issue No. 1 was accordingly decided against the claimants. The claim petition was accordingly dismissed.