UNION OF INDIA Vs. SARDARNI HARBANS KAUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a defendant's appeal against a judgment and decree passed by Mr. Ishar Singh, sub-Judge 1st Class, Karnal dated 16th of March 1950 decreeing the plaintiffs' suit for damages for causing the death of Sohan Singh Nanda as a result of collision between two trains belonging to the defendants,

(2.) SOHAN Singh Nanda belonged to some place in the Rawalpindi District but before the partition he had come to stay in Amritsar where he had started business, and according to the plaintiffs he was carrying on extensive business. On 6th October 1947 he started from Amritsar to go to Delhi and it is stated that he reached Ambala Cantonment before 10th of October on which day he, it is alleged, boarded a train which was going from Ambala Cantonment station to Delhi. Although there is a conflict of testimony, but the evidence of the guard D. W. 3 Kundan Lal shows that the train consisted of 36 wagons in all of which one was a passenger bogie, which was used for the military escort and the rest were goods wagons. Assistant Station Master Jamiat Ram D. W. 1 who was in Ambala Cantonment at the time has also stated that the train in dispute was a goods train and a passenger bogie used to be attached to such trains for the convenience of the military escort.

(3.) THE plaintiffs' case is that Sohan Singh Nanda along with other relations had got into this train and there was a collision at 10-30 p. m. on 10th of October 1947 near mile No. 77 between tarauri and Karnal Railway Stations. Twenty-four persons were killed and 110 were injured. The re-port of the accident is Ex ibit D-l which is printed! at page 83 of the paper bonk. The train in which Nanda is alleged to have travelled was D-32 Down Goods Train and according to exhibit D-l the collision occurred because both trains were started from the opposite stations and there was a single line operating.