IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.2826 of 2000(O&M) Date of decision:04.10.2010 National Insurance Company Limited ....Appellant versus Dalla Ram and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Mr. Navin Kapur, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. Pritam Saini, Advocate, and Mr. Amit Arora, Advocate, for respondent No.4. ---- 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 in appeal against the award making it liable in a case where it was sought to be contended by the insurer that the driver did not have a valid driving licence. This inference was sought to be made from the fact that at the time when the accident took place and the police seized the documents, the driving licence had not been seized from the driver. Even before the Criminal Court, the driving licence had not been produced. The Tribunal, however, reasoned that the mere fact that the driving licence was not produced before the Criminal Court was not sufficient to make an inference that the driver did not have a valid driving licence. In this case, the driver and the owner had remained ex parte. The insurer was FAO No.2826 of 2000(O&M) - 2 - not without remedy, for, it is possible for the insurer to demand and secure the production in the manner laid down under Section 134 of the Motor Vehicles Act. If they had not invoked such a power which the law grants, it cannot be assumed that by the absence of the driver at the trial, he did not have a driving licence. The Tribunal has correctly considered the issue from the point of view of the insurer liability who failed to discharge the burden of proof effectively. The finding of the Tribunal is confirmed and the appeal filed by the insurer is dismissed. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 04.10.2010 sanjeev