S.B.CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.735/98 RSRTC Vs. Smt. Surja Devi & Ors. DATE OF ORDER : 24/11/2009 1/4 S.B.CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.735/98 (RSRTC Vs. Smt. Surja Devi & Ors.) DATE OF ORDER : 24/11/2009 HON'BLE DR.JUSTICE VINEET KOTHARI Mr.Vikas Seoul for Mr.Vineet Mathur for the appellant This appeal by RSRTC is against the award dated 27/8/1998 while deciding claim case no. 98/96 (Surja Dev widow of Shravan Ram vs. RSRTC & ors.). The Learned Tribunal while giving finding on issue no.1 in favour of the claimant held that in the accident which took place on 30/5/1989 by the rash and negligent driving of RSRTC bus no. RSB 4491 by its driver Mehboob Ali, it hit the truck no. RNF-3647 in which deceased Shravan Ram aged 25 years was sitting along with two other persons on the rear side of the truck and on account of said impact all the three persons fell down and one of them died whose widow has filed the present claim petition. The learned Tribunal awarded Rs.1,92,000/- to the claimant by the impugned award. By order dated 16/2/1999 while admitting the present appeal of RSRTC, this Court directed that whole amount of compensation shall be deposited by the RSRTC within a period of 20 days subject to condition that said deposit shall not be disbursed to the respondents claimants until further orders. S.B.CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.735/98 RSRTC Vs. Smt. Surja Devi & Ors. DATE OF ORDER : 24/11/2009 2/4 Now after ten years when the matter has come up for hearing on the board of this Court, none is present on behalf of the respondent claimants. From the facts narrated in the impugned award, it appears that deceased Shravan Ram was the sole bread winner of the family and on the fateful day he was going by the said truck which was hit by RSRTC Bus and on account of said accident he died. The poor widow does not appear to have even the means to engage any lawyer to represent her case before this court. Unfortunately, the disbursement of the amount deposited by the appellant RSRTC was also stayed by this Court, therefore, the amount of compensation does not appear to have reached the claimants. Learned counsel for the RSRTC Mr. Vikas Seoul submitted that it was a case of contributory negligence as the persons including the deceased ought not have travelled on the back of the truck on the milk cans and it was for the driver and owner of the truck to ensure that these people did not travel in the manner they were doing. He also submitted that the bus of RSRTC was not being driven in rash and negligent manner and, therefore, RSRTC was not liable to pay the compensation amount. Having heard learned counsel and upon perusal of the site plan and statement of various witnesses and after going through the findings of learned Tribunal on issue no.1, this Court is of the opinion S.B.CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.735/98 RSRTC Vs. Smt. Surja Devi & Ors. DATE OF ORDER : 24/11/2009 3/4 that learned Tribunal has rightly arrived at the finding that bus no. RSB 4491 was being driven in rash and negligent manner by its driver Mehboob Ali and hit the said truck at its rear end and on account of said impact the persons sitting in the back side lost balance and fallen down and one of them - Shravan Ram died on account of said accident. He was only 25 years of age at the time of accident. Learned Tribunal has also found that said bus was found by the police authorities at a distance of 40 ft. from the exact location of accident and on the basis of same learned Tribunal presumed that the bus was being driven at a very high speed. Therefore, the contention of learned counsel for the appellant RSRTC that bus was stopped on the road side and was not being driven in rash and negligent manner cannot be accepted and learned Tribunal has rightly held that the bus was driven in rash and negligent manner. As far as amount of compensation is concerned, though there is no cross appeal of the claimant, the learned Tribunal has arrived at the net yearly income of Rs.10,000/- of the deceased and applied the multiplier of 17 towards loss of income on account of said death, the learned Tribunal also awarded compensation for mental agony to the tune of Rs.20000/- and Rs.2000/- for the expenses incurred on last rites. Thus, total compensation of Rs.1,92,000 has been awarded by the learned Tribunal in favour of the claimants, which does not call for any further enhancement. S.B.CIVIL MISC. APPEAL NO.735/98 RSRTC Vs. Smt. Surja Devi & Ors. DATE OF ORDER : 24/11/2009 4/4 Consequently, this appeal of RSRTC having no force is liable to be dismissed and same is accordingly dismissed. The learned Tribunal shall take steps to ensure the disbrusement of compensation amount already deposited by the RSRTC and said exercise be completed within one month from the date of receipt of copy of this order. The compliance report be sent to this Court, which may be placed for perusal of this court on 19/1/2010. Copy of this order be sent to the respondent claimants and the Tribunal immediately by registered AD Post. (DR.VINEET KOTHARI), J. item no.38 baweja/-