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Judgment
Having heard the learned counsels of the appellants as well as the respondents, it transpires that the accident occurred on 27.02.2012 at 05:30 PM in the hilly roads running between Khairna and Ranikhet in District Almora. Shri Naveen Chandra Joshi, running in his late 40s was traveling in his Maruti Wagon R car no. UK01- 9391 from Khairna to Ranikhet, a Truck bearing no. UK04- CA-0927, as has been pleaded, came from the front dashed the Maruti Car. The car fell down in the deep ditch. Shri Naveen Chandra Joshi, who was driving such car, suffered with the serious injuries who later on succumbed to the injuries after having been shifted to the nearby hospital by the Ambulance No. 108.
The FIR was lodged by Shri Suresh Chandra Joshi, resident of same village Chapar (village of the claimants) informing the accident to the Patwari outpost of the local area on 29.12.2012 wherein it was simply stated that the Wagon R car fell down in the deep ditch of 150 meters below the road and as a result of such accident his uncle Shri Naveen Chandra has lost his life. No number of the truck was disclosed in such report.
It is pertinent to mention that another report was lodged on 17.3.2012 i.e. after almost 20 days of the occurrence by Smt. Geeta Joshi disclosing the complicity of the truck as afore mentioned in such accident.
The car was insured with the United India Insurance Co. Ltd. while the truck was insured comprehensively with the New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
A claim compensation petition no. 1/2013 was filed by Smt. Geeta Joshi along with her two minor children claiming the compensation of Rs. 90 lakhs but the learned Tribunal vide impugned judgment and order dated 24.01.2015 has dismissed the petition on the ground that the accident was not the cause of dashing by the truck as afore mentioned and the entire story has been cropped up averring the complicity of the truck later on after 20 days of the incident.
The eye witness of such incident is Mr. Gopal Singh who deposes to see the accident from a distance of ? km. and noted down the number of the truck. He has also accepted in his cross-examination that after shifting the injured Shri Naveen Chandra to the hospital through ambulance-108, he came to the house of Mr. Naveen Chandra and informed relating the incident same day. If Mr. Gopal Singh had informed the accident then it was not usual on his part to conceal the number of the truck which had caused the accident. If the number of the truck had also been disclosed by Shri Gopal Singh then it was highly impossible for Shri Suresh Chandra, the real nephew of the injured, to lodge the FIR on 29.02.2012 without disclosing the number of such truck and that is why when the matter was investigated by the concerned Patwari then he submitted the final report and did not find the complicity of any such truck in making such accident.
Mr. Suresh Chandra has not been produced in the witness box by the claimants because had he been produced then certainly he would have faced the cross- examination regarding not disclosing the number of the truck in FIR dated 29.02.2012. This way the presumption goes against the claimants regarding falsely implicating the truck no. UK04-CA-0927 who is owned by Shri Deoki Nandan Joshi, the resident of a nearby place, but even so Mr. Deoki Nandan Joshi as well as the driver Shri Ramesh Chandra Pathak has vehemently and specifically denied any accident from their vehicle. No protest was filed on the final report submitted by the Investigation Officer pursuant to the initial FIR dated 29.02.2012.
It is also pertinent to mention that claimants have obtained the insurance claim regarding the damage of the vehicle as well as the owner-cum-driver as covered under the policy of the car. So, I think there is no scope of interference in the impugned judgment and order.
This appeal is hereby dismissed.