- (1.) AN interesting question of law, viz. , the question of onus in certain cases of claims for compensation arising out of injuries caused by the negligence of the defendant, is involved in this appeal. The plaintiff-appellant, the Corporation of Calcutta instituted a suit for reimbursement against defendants nos. 1 and 2 who are the owners, and the defendant No. 3, the insurer of a lorry, in respect of compensation paid by the plaintiff to one of its employees who is stated to have been injured while on duty by a ring of one of the running lorry which somehow got detached and hit the employee thereby causing a fracture in his hand which was never united and which rendered him unfit for active service.
(2.) LALOO was a watering mazdoor under the Corporation. The case of the plaintiff was that on 4. 8. 1950 at about 8 A. M. Laloo was watering the Harish Mukherjee Road when the Lorry of defendants 1 and 2 came from the north at a speed and a ring from one of its wheels got detached and rolling towards Laloo struck him on the hand. Laloo was at once sent to hospital where he is stated to have been detained for two months. He was found to have suffered a fracture of the left hand but the fracture could not be united. Laloo subsequently demanded compensation from the Corporation and the Corporation after making the necessary enquiries paid him a compensation of Rs. 1008/- on the basis of permanent disability in terms of the Workmens Compensation Act. That was on September 17, 1951.
(3.) IN December 1951 Corporation demanded reimbursement of this amount from defendants 1 and 2, the owners of the offending lorry. They replied asking the Corporation to write to the Insurance Company, defendant No. 3 for payment. This was done, but on February 2, 1952 defendant No. 3 denied liability. Thereafter the present suit was instituted on the allegation that the injury was caused due to the negligence of defendants 1 and 2 in the matter of proper maintenance of the lorry in question which made it possible for a ring of one of its wheels to slip out and injure Laloo.;