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Judgment
K. Kannan, J.—The appeal is by the insurance company on the issue of liability where the insurance company had pleaded that the liability shall be restricted to Rs. 50,000/- as per the terms of the policy. The Tribunal, however, after determining the compensation at Rs. 1,44,000/- went on to hold that since it was a comprehensive insurance policy there cannot be any restriction on liability. This is rather a strange line of reasoning for the limits of liability mentioned under the policy as provided by statute under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. The vehicle involved in the accident was a bus and for the relevant period of the accident, in year 1985 Section 95(2) provides as follows:
(a)where the vehicle is a goods vehicle, a limit of [one lakh and fifty thousand rupees] in all, including the liabilities, if any, arising under the Workmen''s Compensation Act, 1923, in respect of the death of, or bodily injury to, employees (other than the driver), not exceeding six in number, being carried in the vehicle;]
The liability which was restricted to Rs. 50,000/-was raised to Rs. 1,50,000/-by Amendment Act 47 of 1982 w.e.f. 1.10.82. The accident took place on 18.11.85. At the relevant time, therefore, the liability of the insurance company was above Rs. 50,000/-. The award falls less than 1,50,000/-and hence fully covered.
The appeal is dismissed.