O.P. Saxena, J. - (1.) THIS is an appeal under Section 110 -D of the Motor Vehicles Act against the order dated 21.5.1979 passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Tehri Garhwal decreeing the claim of Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 for Rs. 2,000/ - as compensation against the Appellant and Respondent No. 3.
(2.) RESPONDENT No. 1 is the father and Respondent No. 2 is the mother of minor boy Sanju aged about five years who met with an accident on 12.4.1978 at about 5 p.m. on the road near the old bus stand in the town of Tehri. The boy was standing at the end of the motor road near the old bus stand when truck No. UTD 1591 came from the side of Dobata. It is said that the truck was being driven rashly and negligently by Respondent No. 3 and the left front wheel of the truck crushed the boy standing on the extreme end of the road. It is further said that the truck was being driven so rashly and negligently that it could not be stopped even after the boy had been knocked down by the front wheel and the rear wheel ran over the boy killing him on the spot. It is further said that Respondent No. 3 did not stop the vehicle and took it to a nearby workshop, parked it there and ran away. The Appellant was made vicariously liable for rash and negligent driving of Respondent No. 3. A sum of Rs. 18,200 was claimed as compensation. The claim petition was contested by Appellant and Respondent No. 3 separately. The case of the Appellant was that the Respondent No. 3 was not an employee of the Department on the date of the accident, that Respondent No. 3 remained on duty upto 30.11.1977, that he absented himself till 28.2.1978, that Respondent No. 3 was an employee on work charge basis and was not a permanent employee of the Department, that the sanction of work charge employee is obtained after every three months, that they are paid on monthly basis for the period of sanction, that there was an accident of Jeep No. USQ 465 on 11.4.1978, that the truck in question brought this Jeep for repairs to the Garhwal Motors, Tehri, that the truck was driven by the truck driver, that he locked the truck and went to his village after parking the truck within the premises of Garhwal Motors, that the Respondent No. 3 some how managed to insert an iron nail in the key hole of the ignition key of the truck and started the truck, that the Respondent No. 3 absconded from the place of occurrence and later on surrendered himself before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tehri and that no notice or claim for compensation was lodged with the Appellant.
(3.) THE claim petition was contested by Respondent No. 3 with the allegations that on the date of the accident he was only a conductor and Kamalnain was the driver of the truck. On 12.4.1978, at about 12 noon the driver brought the truck to the workshop and Respondent No. 3 went away home, that when he returned after some days, he came to know about the accident that be was not responsible for the accident and that he is not liable to pay any compensation.;