BUTI @ BUNTI Vs. MURTI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE accident here was between a tempo and a jeep. This happened on the Dadri-Loharu Road at about 8.22 p.m. on November 14, 1976. Prem Singh, the driver of the tempo involved in this accident sustained injuries as a result of which he later died on November 21,1976.

(2.) IT was the finding of the Tribunal that this accident had been caused entirely due to the rash and negligent driving by Buti alias Bunti, the driver of the jeep. A sum of Rs. 19,500/- was awarded as compensation to the claimant, she being Smt. Murti, the widow of the deceased.

(3.) THE appellant Buti, the driver of the jeep, appeared as R.W. 5 and sought to lay the blame for the accident wholly upon Prem Singh deceased. According to him, it was the tempo which was being driven without head-lights and that too in the middle of the road, whereas the jeep was partly on the kutcha and partly on the pucca portion of the left side of the road and it was the right side of the tempo which hit into the rear side of the jeep and then the tempo fell and caught fire. He went on to state that Prem Singh deceased was the first person to come out of the tempo but he then tried to take out some-thing from inside the burning tempo and as he was wearing terelyne clothes, they caught fire and he thereby suffered burns and it was on account of these burns that he died. To corroborate this testimony, three other witnesses were examined, namely, R.W. 2 Mahabir and R.W. 3 Dalip Singh who deposed that they were travelling in the jeep at that time and R.W. 4 Amar Chand who stated that he was one of the persons travelling in the tempo of Prem Singh deceased.