NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD Vs. DASHRATH BHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON April 14, 1993 a milk van PAU 2752 hit a tree. Two persons who were travelling alongwith the driver died. One of these persons was Mr. Vipin Shah who was working as a Quality Control Officer with the Guru Nanak Dev Dairy. He succumbed to the injuries and died. The parents and the brother of the deceased filed a petition under Section 110-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 claiming a compensation of Rs. 4,10,000/-. The Tribunal assessed the compensation at Rs. 1,50,000/-. It was held that this amount was payable by the Insurance Company. Aggrieved by the award of the Tribunal the insurer has filed the present appeal.

(2.) THE solitary contention raised on behalf of the appellant is that there is no liability of the insurer to pay on account of the death or injury to a passenger in a milk van. Mr. Lalit Suri, learned Counsel for the appellant, has relied upon the judgment of a Full Bench of this Court in Oriental Fire and General Insurance Co. Limited v. Gurdev Kaur and Ors. (1967) 69 PLR 461 (FB), in support of his submission.

(3.) BEFORE parting with the case, another fact deserves to be noticed. Alongwith Mr. Vipin Shah another person Mr. Gurcharan Dass was also travelling. Even the claim in respect of the death of Gurcharan Dass was tried by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal. In that case the Tribunal had taken the view that the insurer was not liable. F.A.O. No. 269 of 1985 was filed by the claimants before this Court. It has been pointed out by Mr. Suri that vide offer dated May 22, 1989 the finding of the Tribunal that the insurer was not liable, was upheld. Thus, it appears that the Tribunal had taken two contradictory views in respect of one accident. This Court had confirmed the view taken by the Tribunal in Gurcharan Dass's case. No reason for taking a different view in this case is made out.