N.M. Kasliwal and Mohini Kapur, JJ. - (1.) THIS Special Appeal, under Section 18 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, is against the judgment dated August 21, 1984, passed by the learned single Judge of this Court. This decision was passed in an appeal against the award of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Jaipur, in claim case No. 2 of 1978, decided on 14.12.1979.
(2.) THE present appeal is by the owner and driver of truck No. HYB 426, which was involved in an accident and who have been made liable to pay the compensation to the heirs of the deceased alongwith Respondent No. 4, the insurance company in the sum of Rs. 1,19,806/ -. The liability of the insurance company has been fixed at Rs. 50,000/ -. For the balance amount, the Appellants have been held to be jointly and severally responsible. The accident which gave rise to the present claim occurred on July 5. 1977, at about 9.30 p.m. on the Jaipur -Delhi National Highway near Amer. Truck No. HYB 426, driven by the Appellant No. 2 was coming from Delhi to Jaipur and so also the car No. HRH 213, driven by deceased Raghunath Swaroop Bhatnagar. Being the month of July, it was a rainy day and at 9.30 p.m. it was quite dark. At the time of accident, it was raining and there was water on both sides of the road. The driver of the truck stopped his truck on his left side in order to check some noise coming from its engine. At that time the deceased came in his car and he collided with the rear of the standing truck, which according to the claimants was parked on the wrong side, obstructing the traffic and was not displaying red -light to indicate that a vehicle was standing there. Anyone coming from the back could not have any idea that the truck was standing on the road. In the claim petition, it was mentioned that when the deceased reached near Amer, where the accident took place, a vehicle with full headlights was coming from the opposite direction and in order to avoid this on -coming vehicle, the deceased took his car to his left and it was then that it hit the truck which was said to be parked wrongly obstructing the traffic. The deceased who was driving the car sustained injuries and died immediately. His widow, son and father preferred a claim petition claiming compensation to the extent of Rs. 3,00,000/ - under different heads.
(3.) THE claim of the Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 was contested by the Appellants as well as the insurance company The case of the Appellants is that the driver of the truck stopped it on one side of the road in order to check a noise coming from the truck and a car came at a very fast speed from behind and hit the truck. According to the Appellants the parking lights of the truck were switched on and there was no other traffic on the road and the deceased had space to drive his car. It was denied that the accident was caused on account of the mistake or negligence on the part of the driver of the truck.;