OM PARKASH Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE matter here pertains to the Award of compensation to the widow and children of Balbir Singh deceased, who was killed when the truck HRP1351 he was travelling in, suddenly went off the road and fell into a pit as also to the compensation awarded to Dharam Pal the son of the said Balbir Singh deceased for the injuries sustained by him in this accident. He too was on the truck with his father at that time. This happened on the Delhi-Mathura road near the bye-pass road Palwal, during night time on February 6,1981.

(2.) IT was the finding of the Tribunal that the accident had been caused due to the rash and negligent driving of the truck-driver. A sum of Rs. 40,000/- as claimed, was awarded to the claimants for the death of Balbir Singh deceased while Rs. 1200/- were awarded to Dharam Pal for the injuries sustained by him in this accident.

(3.) IT will be seen that the case here is of the owner of goods being carried in a truck taking his goods. It was in dealing with precisely such a situation that the Full Bench of our Court in Gurdev Kaur and others' case (supra) held that the death of the owner of the goods travelling as passenger on the truck in which the goods were carried, does not render the Insurance Company liable to indemnify the owner of the offending vehicle. This judgment was later followed in The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Shanti Devi and Ors.1986 (2) P.L.R. 106.