Shivbux vs Ram Prasad and Others

Mahesh Chandra Sharma, J.—This appeal has been filed against the judgment and award passed by MACT. Brief facts of the case are that on 30.3.1998 at about 8.00 AM deceased Ramavtar was coming from his village Sherpur Khilchipur to Sawai madhopur railway station to give food to his brother in Jeep No. RJ 26-0842. The driver of the jeep drove the jeep rashly and negligently, as a result of which he lost his control and fell down from the Jeep near Ramsinghpura at Ranthambore road and on the way to hospital succumbed to injuries.

Thereafter claim petition was filed, notices were issued, issues were framed, evidence was recorded and after hearing both the sides, the learned Tribunal decreed an amount of Rs. 1,31,000/- in favour of claimants and against the non claimants. The learned Tribunal exonerated the Insurance company from its liability to pay the compensation. Hence, the owner of the offending vehicle has filed the aforesaid appeal.

Learned counsel for the appellant has contended that the learned Tribunal has erred in deciding issue no. 3 as against the appellant exonerating the insurance company from its liability merely on the ground that vehicle was being used by the driver for carrying passenger and therefore, there was a breach of policy. As a matter of fact the insurance company could not have been exonerated from its liability on the aforesaid ground in absence of any pleadings in the written statement regarding willful breach of the insured or there being evidence on record.

E converso, the learned counsel for the respondents defended the impugned award and stated the same to be just and apposite.

Having heard learned counsel for the parties and carefully perused the impugned award including the relevant material on record it is noticed that the learned Tribunal categorically observed in its impugned judgment and award that jeep was insured for the purpose of personal use only, while it was being used as a commercial vehicle. In this way, there was a clear cut breach of policy.

In my considered view, the findings arrived at by the learned Tribunal are just and apposite and they do not suffer from any legal flaw.

For the reasons stated, I do not find any ground to interfere in the impugned award passed by the learned Tribunal and the appeal filed by the appellant being bereft of any merit deserves to be dismissed, which stands dismissed accordingly. Stay application also stands dismissed.