FAO No.624 of 2004 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.624 of 2004 Date of Decision. 24.09.2010 National Insurance Company Limited, Regional Office, SCO No.332- 334, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh through its duly authorized attorney ......Appellant Versus Jaswant Kaur widow of Tarsem Lal alias Tele Ram and others .....Respondents 2. FAO No.625 of 2004 National Insurance Company Limited, Regional Office, SCO No.332- 334, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh through its duly authorized attorney ......Appellant Versus Piara Ram son of Basant Ram and another ....Respondents 3. FAO No.626 of 2004 National Insurance Company Limited, Regional Office, SCO No.332- 334, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh through its duly authorized attorney ......Appellant Versus Bhajan Chand s/o Bant Ram and others .....Respondents Present: Mr. Inderjit Sharma, Advocate for Mr. Pradeep Bedi, Advocate for the appellant. None for the respondents. CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN 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. The insurance company is on appeal challenging the liability on the ground that the driver did not have a valid driving FAO No.624 of 2004 -2- licence. At the trial, the insurance company relied on the report of Licensing Authority that the licence was not genuine. It had not taken steps to summon the original register or secure the presence of any witness connected with the document to testify about the entries in the register and substantiate the plea that the driver did not have a valid driving licence. The insurer could not be said to have discharged its burden of proof. The insurer was correctly found liable to satisfy the claim. 2. The awards of the Tribunal are confirmed and the appeals are dismissed. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE September 24, 2010 Pankaj*