GURDIAL SINGH Vs. SAWINDER SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this Letters Patent Appeal, directed against the judgment dated May 6, 1985 passed by a learned single Judge of this court in F. A. O. No. 605 of 1984, the appellant-claimant is claiming enhancement of the compensation awarded to him on account of head injury received by him in a road accident caused by rash and negligent driving of Bus No. PBA-4326, owned by State of Punjab-respondent No. 2, and driven by Sawinder Singh - respondent No. 1.

(2.) THE necessary facts for the disposal of this appeal are that on 13. 4. 1982 at about 7. 00 p. m. the appellant was hit by Bus No. PBA-4326, belonging to Punjab Roadways, Amritsar Depot, driven by Sawinder Singh-respondent No. 1, near Milk Bar, Morinda. His left clavicle and temporal bones were fractured besides sustaining other minor injuries. Gurmit Singh was an eye-witness of this occurance. Respondent No. 1 removed the injured to the local hospital, from where he was referred to the Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh. At the P. G. I, he remained as an indoor patient upto 23. 4. 1982 on which date he was removed to Civil Hospital, Ropar, where he remained as indoor patient till 2. 6. 1982 when he was discharged. According to the testimony of Dr. Rajinder Saxena of PGI (PW 4), the appellant had received grievous injuries and there was permanent-damage to his brain. According to the said doctor, the injured was not able to understand anything and was not responding to any verbal command. His opinion Was that it was difficult to say as to how long he would take to recover from that stage if at all he recovers.

(3.) THE petition was opposed by the respondents. Respondent No. 1 denied that the bus had hit the appellant. According to him, he had found the appellant lying in an injured condition and he with the help of the passengers had removed the appellant to the hospital and got him admitted. Respondent No. 2, in a separate written statement, resisted the claim on the grounds that the petition was time-barred, that the same was not filed by a proper person inasmuch as, the injured was not insane and that the appellant was not entitled to any compensation.