FAO No.517 of 1997 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.517 of 1997 Date of Decision.17.09.2010 National Insurance Company Limited, Hisar through its A.O. Legal, Shri R.C. Gupta, Sector 35-B, Chandigarh ......Appellant Versus Jai Parkash son of Dhara Singh and others ......Respondents Present: Mr. Suman Jain, Advocate for the appellant. Mr. R.S. Mamli, Advocate 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 challenging the award on the issue of liability on the ground that the driver did not have a valid driving licence. At the trial, it appears that a copy of the licence had been produced that showed the licence to have been issued by the Licensing Authority at Hyderabad and there had been subsequent renewals from Hisar and Hansi. While the insurance company had sought for permission to produce proof of the fact that the licence was not genuine, the Tribunal went by the fact that the renewals were genuine and therefore, it would be irrelevant to examine whether the original issue of licence was fake or not. This may not state the correct position of law but still FAO No.517 of 1997 -2- considering the fact that the Tribunal was adjudging a claim for Rs.35,000/- for injuries sustained, I do not think it necessary to afford to the insurance company to establish at this point of time that the original issue of licence was not genuine. I would rather go with the fact that there had been several renewals and the renewals must have been issued after obtaining NOC from the original issuing authority and would invoke the presumption under Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act that the official act would have been properly done. This situation may not at all times obtain but I do not want to invoke the whole new exercise of giving an opportunity to the insurance company to secure evidence from Hyderabad when the liability is a measly Rs.35,000/- for injuries suffered by the claimant. 2. The award of the Tribunal is, under the circumstances, confirmed and the appeal by the insurance company is dismissed. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE September 17, 2010 Pankaj*