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2015 DIGILAW 218 (HP)

Janak Singh v. Sonia Rani

2015-03-20

MANSOOR AHMAD MIR

body2015
JUDGMENT Mansoor Ahmad Mir, J. 1. Subject matter of this appeal is the judgment and award dated 30.6.2007, made by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, (I) Kangra at Dharamshala in MACT Petition No. 62-G/II/2003, titled Sonia Rani and others versus Naresh Kumar and others, whereby compensation to the tune of Rs.1,59,000/- alongwith interest @ 7.5% per annum came to be awarded in favour of the claimants against the owner-appellant herein, hereinafter referred to as “the impugned award” for short, on the grounds taken in the memo of appeal. 2. The claimants and the insurer have not questioned the impugned award on any ground, thus it has attained finality so far it relates to them. 3. The owner has questioned the impugned award on the ground that the insurer came to be wrongly exonerated and the Tribunal has fallen in an error in directing the owner and driver to satisfy the impugned award. 4. Admittedly, the offending vehicle is a tractor which was to be used only for agricultural purposes. The route permit and other documents, particularly the insurance policy does disclose that the tractor was to be used only for agricultural purposes and was insured only for that purpose. 5. The claimants in para 24 of the claim petition have specifically pleaded that the deceased was constructing a house at Shivpuri Tehsil Dehra, District Kangra, and had gone for loading raw material for the construction of the said house. It has nowhere pleaded that the construction had any relation with the agricultural purpose or agriculture vocation. On the face of it, construction of the house was not linked with the agricultural purposes, in any way. Thus, the owner insured has committed breach of insurance policy on the face of it. 6. Having said so, the Tribunal has rightly made the impugned award, needs no interference. 7. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed and the impugned award is upheld. Registry is directed to release the amount in favour of the claimants through payee’s cheque account, strictly in terms of the conditions contained in the impugned award. 8. The appeal stands accordingly, disposed of alongwith pending applications, if any. Send down the record forthwith.