SANT KAUR Vs. NAZAR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DENIAL of compensation to the claimants, on the finding that they had failed to prove that the accident had been caused by the rash and negligent driving of the offending bus-driver, is what is challenged in appeal here. The claimants being the mother, widow and children of Mohinder Singh deceased, who, while standing at the bus-stand of village Bassian in Jagraon, District Ludhiana was run over and killed by the bus PUI-5605. This happened on June 14, 1981 at about 8 A.M.

(2.) ACCORDING to the claimants, Mohinder Singh deceased was standing on the road side of the bus stand when on account of the rash and negligent driving of the bus-driver; he was run over by the bus. This was controverted by the respondents, who denied any negligence on the part of the bus-driver. They instead took the plea that in the first information report, lodged after the accident, it was stated that the accident had taken place by chance and no body was liable for the accident. This statement, it was said, had been made in the presence of village Panchayat by the widow-Surjit Kaur.

(3.) THE respondents, on their part, examined the bus-driver RW 3 Nazir Singh, who gave no counter-version of the accident, but came-forth to depose that his bus was not involved in any accident. He denied the suggestion in cross-examination that it was his bus that had knocked down and killed Mohinder Singh deceased. It deserves mention here that the testimony of the bus-driver Nazir Singh is at variance with the stand in the written statement inasmuch as, there was no denial of the accident in the return. What was controverted there, was the allegation of rash and negligent driving, not that there had been no accident with this bus.