UNION OF INDIA Vs. VIJAY PAL GANDHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON July 7, 1971 at about 9 A.M. there was an accident between an Ambassador car CH-1202 and a military truck RD-19525 on the Chandigarh-Ambala Road, just short of Zirakpur near the place where the road coming from the side of Kalka joins this road. The car was travelling on the main road proceeding towards Zirakpur, while the military truck had come on to this road from the side road on its way to the Chandigarh Airport. The damages suffered by the car in this accident rendered it a total wreck. All the three occupants thereof namely, Mr. V.P. Gandhi, Mr. Mahesh Kumar Khaitan and Mr. L.M. Suri, the driver thereof, sustained injuries. The most serious being those of Mr. V.P. Gandhi.

(2.) NEGLIGENCE on the part of the driver of the military truck was adjudged the main cause of the accident, and contributory negligence to the extent of one fourth was also attributed to Mr. L.M. Suri, the car driver. Negativing the claim of immunity from liability raised on behalf of the Union of India, on the plea that the accident had occurred in the discharge of the sovereign functions of the State, the Tribunal awarded Rs. 70,000/-as compensation to Mr. V.P. Gandhi, Rs. 4000/- to Mr. L.M. Suri and Rs. 2000/- to Mr. Mahesh Kumar Khaitan and in addition a sum of Rs. 7800/-was awarded to the Insurance Company for the loss suffered by it on account of the damage caused to the car.

(3.) THE manner in which the accident took place is the obvious starting point to the controversy here. It was the case of the claimants that the car was proceeding on its correct side of the road at slow speed when all of a sudden the Military truck came on to the main road on its wrong side and that too at a fast speed. In order to avoid a head-on collision, the car turned towards its extreme right side and went about 10 feet off the road on to the kacha portion. The truck driver could not control his vehicle and came on to the kacha portion and hit into the left front side of the car. The cause of the accident, it was pleaded, was the rash and negligent driving of the driver of the military truck.