F.A.O.NO. 5 OF 1997 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH F.A.O.NO. 5 OF 1997 Date of decision: 22nd September, 2010 National Insurance Company Limited through the Administrative Officer, Regional Office, Sector 35, Chandigarh. .......Appellant Versus Kela Devi and others ........Respondents BEFORE: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.KANNAN Present: Mr. R.M.Suri, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. Vivek Bashamboo, Advocate, for the respondents. 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes/No 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not?Yes/No 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Yes/No K.Kannan, J.(Oral) 1. The Insurance Company is in appeal challenging the liability on the ground that the driver did not have a valid driving licence. At the trial, evidence was led to the effect that the particular copy of the licence which had been produced by the driver bearing the licence number and the date did not tally with the information obtained from the Licencing Authority and it was proved not to have been issued to the driver at all. The Tribunal however, held that since there had been valid renewals of licence, it must be treated as F.A.O.NO. 5 OF 1997 2 genuine. The point has been settled by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in United India Insurance v. Davinder Singh(2007) 8 SCC 342, where it was held that even if the renewal is genuine but the original issue of licence is proved to be fake, it would be fake. 2. The driver was not examined and the owner also gave no evidence about the circumstances or belief under which he had engaged the driver. The Insurance Company cannot therefore, be made liable to indemnify the insured any more than satisfy the claim of the claimants. 3. The award of the Tribunal is modified to provide for right of recovery against the owner of the insured/owner involved in the accident. The award stands modified and the appeal stands allowed to the above extent. [K.KANNAN] JUDGE 22nd September, 2010 Shivani Kaushik