IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.1842 of 1997 Date of decision:09.09.2010 National Insurance Company Limited ....Appellant versus Jaswinder Kaur and others ...Respondents II. FAO No.1843 of 1997 National Insurance Company Limited ....Appellant versus Mrs. Jasbir Kaur and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Mr. Ravinder Arora, Advocate, for the appellant. None for the respondents. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? ---- K.Kannan, J. (Oral) 1. Both the cases arise out of the same accident and the claim by the Insurance Company was that the driver was not duly licensed. The Insurance Company sought to summon the licensing authority for hearing on 30.05.1997. The witness was not present and the Court proceeded to deliver a judgment holding that the insurer had not proved FAO No.1842 of 1997 - 2 - that the driver did not have a valid driving licence. The Insurance Company had produced a report of the surveyor/investigator with an alleged verification endorsement that the licence had not been issued by the Licensing Authority at Bulandshahar. A mere report with an alleged endorsement will not constitute proof and if the Insurance Company had not secured the presence of the witness, it cannot contend that it had taken steps to summon but the witness was not present. The Insurance Company must have pressed forth to secure the witness by coercive process at least. 2. I cannot find fault with the awards of the Tribunal casting the insurer's liability which shall not merely satisfy the claim but also to indemnify the insured. 3. Both the appeals are dismissed. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 09.09.2010 sanjeev