THE UNITED INDIA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. RAZIYA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the learned counsel for the appellant and the learned counsel for the respondents. First of these appeals are all filed by the Insurance Company challenging the award of compensation in respect of deceased victims in a road accident. The second of these appeals are filed by the claimants seeking enhancement of compensation. The respondents -claimants were legal representatives of the deceased victims. It is claimed that there are four persons who died as a result of the accident and all of them were carried in the vehicle for purposes of loading and unloading, however, it was seriously disputed by the appellant -Insurance Company.

(2.) THE Tribunal has primarily negated the defence set up by the Insurance Company on the footing that the driver of the offending lorry which is duly insured by the appellant -Insurance Company, was not examined as a witness and since the entire case of Insurance Company is based on the First Information Report of the accident which was lodged by a Police Officer, the same was only on information gathered by the said Police Officer and could not establish whether the victims were being carried as unauthorized passengers or for purposes of loading and unloading.

(3.) HE would further seek to place reliance on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Oriental Insurance Company v. Premlata Shukla ( : ACJ 2007 1928) where the Supreme Court has laid down that the First Information Report which is relied upon for the purposes of establishing an accident or where the First Information Report is relied upon in part the, party relying upon the same could not negate the other portion of the First Information Report which may be adverse to his claim and therefore would seek to sustain the same to contend that the First Information Report having been relied upon by the claimants, it was not possible for them to negate the statements in the First Information Report, that the victims were being carried as unauthorized passengers in the lorry. Hence, the Tribunal was in error in overlooking this significant circumstance, namely that the First Information Report clearly indicated that the deceased victims were unauthorized passengers.