MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI Vs. KULDIP LAL BHANDARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -Due to ant to the D.T.U. bus No. DLP 658 belonging to the appellant-Municipal Corporation of Delhi, a lady named Mrs. B. Bhandari suffered injuries which resulted in her death. The respondents, as her legal representatives, claimed compensation from the appellant before the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Delhi on the ground that the injuries caused to Mrs. Bhandari were due to the negligence of the appellant's employees, viz. the Driver and the Conductor of the bus. The claim was dismissed by the Tribunal but was partially decreed by a learned Single Judge of the then Circuit bench of the Punjab High Court for Delhi in an appeal preferred to the High Court against the award of the Tribunal under Section 110-D of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939.

(2.) The present appeal was preferred before a Division Bench of this Court under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent applicable to this High Court. It is common ground that such an appeal lies from the judgment of a single Judge of the High Court. The respondents have, however, raised a preliminary objection against the maintainability of this appeal on the ground that the decision of the learned single Judge against which this appeal purports to be made is not a "judgment" within the meaning of Clause 10 of the Letters Patent. The Divion Bench speaking through my lord the Chief Justice surveyed the relevant case law on the subject and referred the matter to the Full Bench on the 15th May, 1968 in view of the apparent lack of agreement among the judicial decisions.

(3.) The Central question for consideration by us is whether the judgment under appeal given by the learned single Judge in an appeal against the award of the Claims Tribunal under Section IIO-D of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (hereinafter called the Act) is:-(1) ajudgment, (2) given by a Judge of this Court within the meaning of Clause 10 of the Letters Patent