UNITED INDIA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. SHANTI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in this appeal is to the award dated 3.2.1997 passed by Shri B.M. Bajaj, the then Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Karnal whereby he granted an amount of Rs. 2,12,000/- as compensation to the claimants on account of death of Soran Ram alias Swaran Singh in a motor vehicular accident.

(2.) THE brief facts as are divulged from the pleadings of the parties are that on 24.2.1993, Soran Ram, on the instructions of his employer, loaded the household goods from Karnal in his tractor trolley No. HR-05B-1611 for un- loading the same at the place of one Shri Subhash Chander Singla of Kurukshetra. So, after un-loading the household goods, at Kurukshetra, the deceased along with one Shakti Parkash son of the employer were coming back by driving the tractor-trolley at a very moderate speed on the left side of the road. When they reached near village Manak Majra, a Swaraj Mazda No. HR-26- 1879 came from the opposite side driven by Ranbir Singh rashly and negligently and struck against the tractor trolley. Because of the great impact, the tractor was badly damaged and the front and rear wheel tyres of the tractor burst. Soran Ram came down and was watching the tractor trolley in order to find out what loss to the tractor was caused by the driver of Swaraj Mazda No. HR-26-1879 due to his rash and negligent driving. In the meanwhile, another truck No. PCE-8813 driven by Buta Singh, rashly and negligently came from the side of Kurukshetra and struck against the tractor trolley from behind and caused the accident in question in which Soran Ram received injuries. Both the legs of Soran Ram were badly crushed. He was brought to Civil Hospital, Karnal and then was shifted to PGI, Chandigarh where he remained admitted for some months and then he died due to the injuries sustained by him in the aforesaid accident. A case was got registered against both the drivers. Postmortem examination on the dead body of Soran Ram alias Swaran Singh was conducted by the doctors in General Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh.

(3.) THE claim petition was contested by the respondents.