SURJIT KAUR Vs. SADHU SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE controversy in appeal here is with regard to the identity of the offending tractor and the driver thereof.

(2.) THE claimants Daljit Singh and his wife Surjit Kaur were returning to Sangrur from village Longowal when a tractor without number plates and head lights coming from the opposite direction, hit into their motor cycle as a result of which they both sustained serious injuries. This happened at about 7 p.m. on November 9, 1978.

(3.) SADHU Singh respondent, both in his return as also in his testimony in Court, denied that he was involved in any accident. The claimants, on the other hand, specifically named him as the person who was driving the offending tractor when the accident occurred. A reference to the evidence on record would show that the crucial testimony here is that of the claimant PW 16, Surjit Kaur. The evidence of the other two witnesses, namely, PW 8 Jit Singh and PW 17 Daljit Singh is clearly of no avail. PW 8 Jit Singh, who claimed to be an eye-witness, was not relied upon by the Tribunal and rightly too considering the discrepancies and contradictions in his evidence. Counsel for the claimants too very fairly sought no support from his testimony. PW 17 Daljit Singh claimant, on the other hand, made no mention of the name of the person driving the tractor when the accident occurred. Here he was indeed consistent with the first information report recorded on his statement, which contained no name or particulars of the tractor driver. It was PW 16 Surjit Kaur, who named Sadhu Singh respondent as the culprit here by deposing that he was the driver of the offending tractor. This testimony was sought to be questioned on the ground that the accident occurred when it was almost dark and that too caused by tractor without head lights and what is more Surjit Kaur as per her own showing had become "almost unconscious" by the impact. Counsel for the respondent argued that it would not, therefore, be safe to accept that she could identify the tractor driver when he was not previously known to her.