K. Kannan, J. - (1.) THE appeal is against the dismissal of the petition for compensation. The deceased was going on a cycle when he was supposed to have been hit by the insured's truck. The tribunal found that the negligence had not been established and dismissed the petition. There was also a defence that the claimants had received Rs. 20,000/ - from the owner in full quit of all claims and gave a statement to that effect. The claimants admitted to have received Rs. 20,000/ - but denied the document on a plea that the first claimant had signed document on blank paper which had been used for filling up recitals to the convenience of the respondents.
(2.) IN any situation of a death of a pedestrian or a cyclist by the involvement of a motor vehicle, I will be loathe to draw any negligence on the pn of the pedestrian or cyclist. It is always the heavier vehicle which shall be driven with circumspection and care that no death or injury resulted from such driving. A cyclist or a pedestrian could hardly cause death by an impact with other person. It is only a motor vehicle that could cause death or injury. There is therefore a scheme for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act for use of a motor vehicle. I reverse the finding regarding want of proof of negligence on the part of the driver and hold that the death had resulted from a res ipsa loquitur situation of a cyclist having been run over by a motor vehicle and therefore the driver was responsible. The deceased was said to be 48 years and working as a Printing Master in a private Printing press earning Rs. 4500/ -. No proof of income had been adduced and the tribunal rejected the evidence as not acceptable. I will not wholly discard the oral evidence of the wife who spoke from her personal knowledge of what her husband was doing. So long as he was an able bodied man supporting a family of 5 children, I will assume that he would have earned not less than Rs. 3,000/ - on an average. I will make a deduction of 1/4th and re -work the compensation as under: -
(3.) I have provided for Rs. 1 lac for loss of consortium and Rs. 1 lac for loss of love and affection to all the children considering the fact of accident in the year 1992. Since there had been an admission that there had been a receipt of Rs. 20,000/ - the amount shall also be deducted from the aggregate. There shall be an award of Rs. 5,38,500/ - and the same shall be distributed equally amongst the wife and all children. The liability shall be on the Insurance Company.;