F.A.O.NO. 661 OF 1995 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH F.A.O.NO. 661 OF 1995 Date of decision: 22nd July, 2010 The New India Assurance Company Ltd. .......Appellant Versus Suresh Devi and others ........Respondents BEFORE: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.KANNAN Present: Mr. Tejinder Pal Singh, Advocate, for the appellant. None 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 stating that there were passengers in tempo and the claim for death or injury cannot be made against the insurer. The learned counsel refers to judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Rattani and others (2009) 2 SCC 75 and National Insurance Co. Ltd. vs. Cholleti Bharatamma and others (2008) 1 SCC 423. Learned counsel refers to the fact that the Tribunal has observed that tempo cannot be used for carrying passengers but unless it is shown it was unauthorised, no liability cannot be denied. 2. To the specific query whether the vehicle was only a F.A.O.NO. 661 OF 1995 2 goods carriage or a service vehicle to carry passengers the counsel is unable to respond with reference to and how the insurance cover had been provided. 3. In the absence of even making available the insurance policy to apprise the court as to how the vehicle had been insured and whether the risk extends to the passengers in the vehicle it is not possible to appreciate the contention of the insurer. The exclusion of liability is an issue of fact on the contractual terms. It is not known from the records made available before me whether it is only a goods carriage or a transport vehicle that can carry passengers. With no such particulars available, the decisions referred to by the learned counsel appearing for the insurance company can not be applied. Therefore, the appeal is dismissed. [K.KANNAN] JUDGE 22nd July, 2010 Shivani Kaushik