- (1.) Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.
(2.) The question involved in these appeals centres around the liability of the insurance company to indemnity the owner of the vehicle in respect of death of passengers travelling in goods carriage. The dates of accident being different, different provisions would apply. We would notice the law operating in the field at the outset and apply the same in each case separately.
(3.) The relevant portion of Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act (for short "the Act"), prior to its amendment, reads as under : "Requirements of policies and limits of liability.- (1) In order to comply with the requirements of this Chapter, a policy of insurance may be a policy which- (a) *** (b) insures the person or classes of persons specified in the policy to the extent specified in Sub-section (2)- (i) against any liability which may be incurred by him in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person or damage to any property of a third party caused by a or arising out of the use of the vehicle in a public place; (ii) *** Provided that a policy shall not be required- (i) to cover liability in respect of the death, arising out of and in the course of his employment, of the employees insured by the policy or in respect of bodily injury sustained by such an employee arising out of and in the course of his employment other than a liability arising under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, in respect of the death of, or bodily injury to, any such employee- (a) *** (b) *** (c) if it is a goods vehicle, being carried in the vehicle; or (ii) except where the vehicle is a vehicle in which passengers are carried for hire or reward or by reason of or in pursuance of contract of employment, to cover liability in respect of the death of or bodily injury to persons being carried in or upon or entering or mounting or alighting from the vehicle at the time of the occurrence of the event out of which a claim arises.";