BALLI SINGH Vs. SUSHIL SINGHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE award of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal holding the driver and owner of the offending vehicle, a tractor, liable for the payment of the amount awarded but not the insurance company thereof, was sought to be challenged on the wholly untenable premises that a driving licence for a motor car and jeep must be deemed to cover a tractor too.

(2.) THE facts relevant to this matter are that on May 19, 1977, at about 12. 30 p. m. , Anand Kumar Singhal, deceased, while travelling on a motor cycle PUJ-6030 on Jagmalera-Rania Road met with an accident and died later that day as a result of the injuries suffered by him. It was the finding of the Tribunal that the accident was caused when the trolley of the tractor HRF-1578 hit into the motor cycle of the deceased, when both these vehicles were coming from opposite directions. The tractor was coming at a high speed and the trolley thereof had not been properly tied with the result that it was following the tractor in a zig-zag manner. The trolley protruded from behind the tractor and it hit into the the headlight of the motor cycle being driven by the deceased and it was as a result of this that both Anand Kumar Singhal, the driver of the motor cycle, as also Suresh Kumar, who was sitting on the pillion seat thereof, fell down unconscious. The accident thus took place due to the rash and negligent driving of Kewal Singh, the driver of the tractor.

(3.) THE claimants were awarded a sum of Rs. 80,000 as compensation as claimed by them. This amount was awarded keeping in view the age of the deceased which was found to be 37 years at the time of his death and his income of Rs. 650 per month. The loss to his dependants was taken to be Rs. 475 per month. Applying a multiple of 16 in the light of the law laid down by the Full Bench of this court in Lachhman Singh v. Gurmit Kaur [1979] PLR 1 ; AIR 1979 P and H 50 [kb], the claimants were held entitled to a sum of Rs. 92,200 as compensation, but as the amount claimed was only Rs. 80,000, this was the sum awarded.