NATIONAL INSURANCE CO LTD Vs. YOGESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this special appeal filed under Section 18 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949, appellant National Insurance Company is challenging the judgment dated 14.05.2002 passed by learned Single Judge in S.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No.851/2001, whereby, the learned Single Judge allowed the appeal and set aside the finding of the learned Tribunal upon issues No.3 and 4 in the judgment and award dated 26.05.2001, and, modified the award while holding the appellant insurance company liable jointly and severally to pay the amount of compensation in terms of the insurance policy Ex.-NA/1 along with other non-claimant-respondents.

(2.) The main contention of learned counsel for the appellant is that the learned Tribunal exonerated the appellant insurance company from the liability of compensation while deciding issues No.3 and 4 in favour of the insurance company, in which, the learned Tribunal held that there is gross violation of the policy conditions because the owner as well as driver both, despite issuing notice by the insurance company, did not like to produce the driving licence before the Tribunal and, thus, the burden of proving any licence to be fake and/or invalid which was to be proved by the insurance company was proved sufficiently by detailed oral evidence of two witnesses.

(3.) As per the appellant insurance company, the investigator specifically said in his oral evidence about the investigation in the criminal proceedings at the Sharda court that there was no copy of licence, either original or xerox, produced by the driver or owner. In this case also, details were not given about the licence by the driver or owner, therefore, in the circumstances, best possible efforts were made by the appellant insurance company in order to discharge the burden to prove under Section 149 that the driver was not holding any valid driving licence.