ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO LTD Vs. SAMILA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are being disposed of by a common award since the question involved in all these appeals are identical and all these appeals have been filed against the award passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal where the Insurance Company has been held liable to pay compensation.

(2.) The undisputed facts are that on 11.12.2002 bus No.HP-10-0300 which was owned by Shri Sunder Singh Nainta and driven by Shri Pradeep s/o Shri Tulsi Ram was going from Pujarli to Shillaroo. The bus went off the road and fell down into a khud. A number of persons died in the accident and some were injured. Claim petitions were filed by the injured and their legal heirs. The Insurance Company in its reply took various pleas and two main pleas taken were that the driver of the bus did not hold a valid driving licence and that the bus was being plied without any route permit and in breach of the terms of the policy.

(3.) From the evidence led on record it is apparent that the bus was specially engaged to carry passengers for a rally to be held by a political party. PW-3 who was one of the passengers specifically stated that the bus was engaged for specially carrying the passengers to a rally and that the passengers had not purchased any ticket(s). He also states that the bus was not being plied on Pujarli to Shillaroo route. The owner produced the route permit of the vehicle Ext.RA but this was valid from 30.10.1996 to 29.10.2001. RW-1 Jaspal Singh, clerk in the office of RTO, Shimla, has clearly stated that this is the only route permit of the vehicle available on record and there is no other route permit. He also stated that no special permit for taking the passengers to a political party was applied for or granted for 11.12.2002. The owner of the vehicle appeared as RW-3. He produced the copy of the Insurance Policy, etc. He in his statement has clearly stated that the Block President of the Congress party had applied for special permit for that day and the permit was in the bus but he could not locate the permit after the accident and the same was destroyed. The driving licence of the driver has been placed on record which shows that it is valid for heavy goods vehicle. After 1994 there are no different categories of transport vehicle and the said licence would be valid for a public service vehicle also.